Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow yesterday as part of an eye-catching visit that has fueled EU fears that cash-strapped Athens is cosying up to Russia.
The two-day trip comes as Tsipras is battling to unblock a rescue package from the EU and IMF, with some in Brussels warning against any move to barter financial support from Moscow for political backing over the Ukraine crisis.
However, analysts say that while the visit might see Moscow lift an embargo on Greek fruit, overall it is more about political grandstanding aimed at pressuring Europe, rather than a serious shift in policy.
Photo: Reuters
Tsipras, a former communist who came to power in January, has made no secret of seeking closer ties to Russia at a time when Moscow is at loggerheads with the EU over the conflict in Ukraine.
The Greek prime minister — who traveled to Moscow last year prior to his election win — is taking part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin ahead of his sit-down with Putin.
A number of Greek officials have broached the prospect of Athens turning to Russia or China for financial assistance if loan talks with the EU end in failure.
Germany on Tuesday angrily labeled a call by Athens for more than 278 billion euros (US$300 billion) in World War II reparations as “dumb.”
Ahead of the trip, Tsipras once again rattled the EU’s already shaky stance over Ukraine by lashing out at Western sanctions against Moscow as “a road to nowhere.”
“We do not agree with sanctions,” Tsipras told Russian state news agency TASS. “I support the point of view that there is a need for a dialogue and diplomacy, we should sit down at the negotiating table and find the solutions to major problems.”
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov yesterday said that Moscow wanted to see all EU countries make choices according to their own “national interests” and not “false principles of solidarity.”
Both sides have talked up the possibility of closer economic ties between the two Christian Orthodox nations ahead of the visit — set to be followed by another trip to Moscow for Tsipras for World War II victory anniversary commemorations next month.
Prominent among the issues on the agenda is gas.
However, while both sides make positive noises, there appears no chance of Russia — battling an economic crisis of its own — stepping in with major financial aid.
“There is no question of Greece receiving any money to plug its holes,” Russian foreign affairs expert Fyodor Lukyanov said.
However, Moscow could well decide to revoke a painful embargo on fruit — imposed as part of a wider ban on Western products in response to sanctions over Ukraine — that has bruised Greece’s agricultural sector.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary