Russia’s permanent representative Crimea Georgy Muratov warned Greece not to transfer Russia-made anti-aircraft missile systems S-300 to Ukraine, saying it would be an ‘irrational display of hostility towards Russia’.
Speaking to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, Muratov said: “Such a move by Athens would not only be an irrational display of hostility towards Russia, but also a dangerous step towards its own national interests, as the Greek public opinion is already resoundingly emphasising”.
Previously, Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos admitted that the Greek government is ready to send S-300 air defence systems from Crete to Ukraine if the US “installs Patriot systems in their place”.
RIA Novosti explained that the transfer of Russian-made weapons to Ukraine, under pressure from the United States, would mean that the Greek air defence would be deprived of capabilities the Turkish side does not know and cannot face.
“But possibly, for Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, having good relations with Joe Biden is a bigger priority”, the article reads.
“For example, replacing the S-300s with the Patriots will reduce the ground air defence range from 150 km to 75 km!” the article adds.
Diplomatic incident with Tsipras
Meanwhile, Serbian media reported that the Ambassador of Russia in Serbia, Alexander Botsan, was “forced” to leave the congress of the Serbian socialist party (SPS) “because of Greece’s main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras”.
Particularly, press reports suggest that in a video message, leftist Tsipras said the Russian invasion of Ukraine was illegal and pointed out that it is “a violation of international law that cannot be accepted”.
“The Greek [Tsipras] started with completely baseless, false accusations against Russia, started slandering my country”, Botsan tweeted.
(Sarantis Michalopoulos | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
