Russia is concerned by the concentration of US forces in Greece, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
“The problem is very simple: More and more NATO and US troops are being concentrated on your territory. You are transporting hundreds and thousands of pieces of military equipment through Alexandropoulos, etc. You are opening new bases for NATO, at the same time that NATO calls us [Russia] an enemy. And NATO formulates the main goal of the alliance, which is nothing other than the ‘containment’ of Russia. This worries us. You must understand this,” Peskov said, speaking to Greek television channel ANT1.
Asked whether he believed that Greece could become hostile toward Russia, Peskov said “No, never.” He added, however, that Athens is bound by obligations stemming from its membership in NATO, and that this is a problem for Moscow, because the alliance continues its expansion toward Russia’s borders.
Commenting on what reaction he hopes to see from Greece if the European Union were to slap new sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, the Kremlin spokesman said Moscow considers Athens a partner and would like to continue for relations to continue in this vein.
On the issue of the sale of Russian S-400 missile systems to Turkey, Peskov suggested that they were defensive systems, unlike some of the NATO equipment being transported through Alexandropoulos.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met in Sochi on Wednesday for talks. Putin assured his Greek counterpart that although NATO has declared Russia an adversary, Russia is “not striving for any confrontations with anyone,” and hopes that Greece will take a similar position.
