Greek Defense Minister to Visit Russia on April 17-18

Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos will meet with his Russian counterpart in Moscow, according to Greek Deputy Defense Minister.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos will pay official visit to Moscow on April 17-18 to discuss bilateral defense cooperation, Greek Deputy Defense Minister Kostas Isihos told Sputnik on Thursday.

Speaking after talks with Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, Isihos said that the agenda of the visit included a meeting between Kammenos and Russia Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

"They are expected to discuss bilateral cooperation in the defense sector, with focus on expending military-technical ties," Isihos said.

Isihos also emphasized that the Greek defense sector’s enterprises would benefit from technical support and advice from the Russian side.

Before the 2009 financial crisis Greece used to purchase Russian military hardware worth billions of dollars. However, in recent years, Athens was forced to reduce its arms imports since its economy shrank amid the economic crisis and a huge national debt.

Nevertheless, in December 2013, Russia and Greece signed an intergovernmental agreement on military-technical cooperation during the visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to Athens. The deal stipulated arms supplies to Greece, in particular air defense missile complexes and anti-tank guided missiles. The parties also discussed the possibility of holding joint military personnel training events.