ATHENS, March 24. /TASS/. Russia forms an important part of European security architecture, and relations with it should be built based on cooperation instead of antagonism, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday after a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
"Greece is a member of the European Union and NATO, which determines the basis of our state’s foreign policy. At the same time, we recognize that Russia forms a significant part of European security architecture, which, without a doubt, should be based on cooperation instead of antagonism, and on respect for such values as the protection of human rights," Mitsotakis said.
According to him, "such modern challenges and asymmetrical threats as extremism and terrorism can only be beaten from the position of cooperation and not confrontation."
Speaking about the history of Greek-Russian relations, Mitsotakis pointed out that Russia’s victory over the Ottoman Empire in 1829 led to the signing of the London Protocol that ensured the birth of a new Greek state. "Over the following decades, the balance of powers on the international stage and the geopolitical factors brought us closer together to some extent, without ever leading to breaking off the historical ties between our people. So even during the most difficult ordeals of humanity, we were side by side: first in the First World War and then in the war against Nazism. Both Russia and Greece spilled a lot of blood to achieve victory in this war," the PM said.