ATHENS, January 18. /TASS/. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko has held consultations with Greek officials in Athens. The diplomats discussed the situation around the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the circumstances of Russia's membership in the Council of Europe.

Over the course of consultations, Grushko met with Secretary General of the Greek Foreign Ministry Dimitrios Paraskevopolous, Alternate Foreign Minister Georgios Katrougalos, Director of the Diplomatic Cabinet of the Greek Prime Minister Evangelos Kalpadakis.

"The sides discussed main international issues. They touched upon the issues of security in Europe, including in the framework of the US plans to suspend their participation in the INF Treaty," Grushko told reporters. "This issue has a serious European dimension. One can come to a conclusion from our discussion that Greece is among those countries in Europe that proceed from the great importance of maintaining the INF Treaty," he added.

"They also discussed the situation in the Council of Europe. We hoped that common sense will prevail in the organization, and the rights of our delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will be restored in full. However, five years have already passed, and we still don't seen any real progress," Grushko noted.

The Russian deputy foreign minister and Greek officials also discussed Russia's relations with NATO and EU, as well as the situation in the Middle East and in the Balkans.