Sanctions-hit Russia would consider extending financial aid to debt-ridden Greece if Athens were to make a request, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said. His remarks come after the opposition of new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ government to the introduction ofnew sanctions against Russia. Athens has stressed that the restrictions will bring economic problems to a number of European states, including Greece.
“Well, we can imagine any situation, so if such petition is submitted to the Russian government, we will definitely consider it, but will take into account all the factors of our bilateral relationships between Russia and Greece,” he told CNBC.
The EU foreign ministers adopted onJanuary 29 a decision tokeep inforce the existing sanctions against Russia untilSeptember 2015, butstopped short ofimposing new sanctions. The oil price collapse, the ruble’s drop, and Western sanctions over the ongoing crisis in Ukraine have damaged Russia’s economy.
Slava Smolyaninov, chief strategist at UralSib Financial Corp, toldNew Europeby phone from Moscow on January 30 that extending financial aid to Greece depends on how the situation will play out.
“At this point I believe it’s just more of a matter of rhetoric between the parties involved: The new government position, the Russian position, the EU position,” he said. “So far it looks to me positioning for a chess game. Would Russia be able and willing? I can imagine actually Russia giving significant amount of money to Greece,” he said, noting, however, that Russia’s economic situation has deteriorated recently.
Observers have associated the Greek position with the sanctions and the debt situation. “It is not very clear at the moment how much of that is bluff, how much of that is negotiating sort of position and how much is actually going to get through,” Smolyaninov said.
Tsipras, whose party wants to ditch Greece’s EU and IMF bailout terms, metRussia’s ambassadorto Athens Andrey Maslov on January 26. The latter delivered a congratulatory message from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, the White House said on January 28 that US President Barack Obama called Tsipras to congratulate him on his election victory, adding that Washington looks forward to working closely with the new Greek government to help Greece return to a path of long-term prosperity.
The US and EU have imposed sanctions on Russia for its role in eastern Ukraine, where Western leaders accuse Moscow of supporting pro-Russian rebels with arms and soldiers. Moscow denies the allegations.
Smolyaninov said that geopolitics right now plays a very importantrole at least in minds of the policy-setters in Moscow that he would not be surprised if Moscow extends financial aid to Athens at some point. “But it all depends on the position of Greece within the EU. If Greece joins the European Union in sanctions and acts as a member of the European Union then probably nothing will go ahead,” he said.
http://www.neurope.eu/article/greece-blocks-more-eu-sanctions-russia-offers-athens-aid