Putin visits Russian Orthodox monastic community in Greece

“It will be the same case with Poland”, Putin said after meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Putin has made only a handful of visits to European Union countries since sanctions were imposed on Moscow two years ago in response to the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s annexation of Crimea following an internationally disputed referendum. Russia’s president is due… However, to the great disappointment of the Greeks, Putin was being driven around by his usual motorcade, which, as always, was taken to Greece by plane from Moscow.

Moscow has said repeatedly that it would take countermeasures against the United States over its missile shield, which Washington claims is protection from Iran, not Russian Federation. The limited concrete results of Putin’s long-anticipated visit left some disappointed.

Panagiotis Lafazanis, a former energy minister who has left the ruling Syriza party, said the Greek government had de-emphasized the Putin visit in order to curry favor with USA and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation officials. Strained ties with Turkey and lax airport security in Egypt have reduced the number of Russian tourists going to those sun-drenched countries.

“Important work on moral foundations and moral values is done on Mount Athos”, he said.

In his second visit to the “Holy Mountain”, Putin reached the Saint Panteleimon monastery which hosts about 100 Russian, Ukrainian and other Russian- speaking monks to celebrate the millennial anniversary of the first Russian settlement in the peninsula.

Putin and the patriarch attended several events in his honor and to mark the 1,000-year presence of Russian monks there.

Security in Mount Athos was extremely tight.

During the visit of the Russian President to Greece, two thousand police were deployed on the streets of Athens, while parking in the city center was banned, local media reported.