Athens may have heart in Moscow but head is in Europe: analysts

WITH pro-Russians and ex-Communists in the cabinet, Greece’s new hard-left government has sparked concern about a strategic shift in direction towards Moscow — but Athens has its eyes firmly on Europe, experts say.

The main governing Syriza party no longer advocates Greece leaving NATO, but Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias has highlighted the country’s historic ties with Russia and condemned the EU’s “spasmodic” approach to Moscow.

Defence Minister Panos Kammenos, leader of the nationalist junior coalition partners Independent Greeks, makes no secret of his belief that Russia is Greece’s natural ally and visited Moscow only a few weeks ago.

So when the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, a former Communist, last week protested against an EU statement threatening further sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, many saw the influence of the Kremlin.

But Tsipras has sought to calm speculation over a shift towards Moscow, just as he has moved to ease tensions with Greece’s international creditors.

Visiting Cyprus on Monday, he repeated his desire to help form a “bridge” between Europe and Russia — but dismissed any speculation that his government might turn to Moscow for financial aid.

Constantinos Filis, research director at the Institute of International Relations in Athens, said he did not anticipate any strategic change in Russia’s direction.

“Greece will change its rhetoric, try to improve its ties and try to ask for a more balanced Western policy towards Russia. But I do not see any U-turn in the coming weeks and months,” he told AFP.

Fyodor Lukyanov, the Kremlin-linked chairman of the Moscow-based Council on Foreign and Defence Policy, said Greece was focusing all its attention on negotiating a way out of its painful bailout programme.

“Whatever their sympathies with some people here, Tsipras will try to position himself as a responsible Greek leader which will mean solving problems and not creating new ones,” Lukyanov told AFP.