Mikhail Mishustin’s talks with Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis

Following the talks both prime ministers made statements to the press

Statements to the press by Mikhail Mishustin and Prime Minister of the Hellenic Republic Kyriakos Mitsotakis:

From the transcript:

Kyriakos Mitsotakis (retranslated): On behalf of all Greeks I have the honour of welcoming Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin to Athens today. He has arrived in Greece with a special mission and will represent his great country at the celebrations of the 200^th anniversary of the Greek national liberation revolution. In addition, 2021 has been proclaimed the Year of Greek and Russian History.

The relations between our countries are rooted in the remote past. We have the potential to take them into the future. We are linked by common history, culture and religion. The ties established back in the Byzantine Empire only grew stronger owing to the Greek communities in Russia and became allied relations with the start of the 1821 revolution. This was natural because Filiki Eteria (Society of Friends) was born in Odessa, in the Russian Empire. Our great benefactor Ioannis Varvakis launched his activities in Russia. Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first ruler of independent Greece, arrived from Russia. Alexander Pushkin himself was the first to herald the start of the revolution with his verse 'Revolt, oh Greece, revolt…' It was written exactly 200 years ago - on 25 March, 1821. As early as in March 1821, he wrote a letter to his friend Vasily Davydov as a genuine Greek: 'All my thoughts are striving towards one goal - the independence of the ancient homeland.'

When the Greek revolution was in danger, Russia and its allies Britain and France took part in the Battle of Navarino where the Ottoman Empire sustained a heavy defeat. We must not forget that Russia's victory in the struggle against the Ottoman Empire in 1829 led to the signing of the London Protocol that signified the birth of a new Greek state. During subsequent decades, international events and geopolitical circumstances brought our nations closer together to a varying extent. However, they have never severed historical ties between our nations. This is exactly why we fought shoulder to shoulder - first in WWI and then in the war against the Nazis, where the victory was won by Russia, the Soviet Union and Greece at a high price in blood.