Russian Ambassador to Athens Andrey Maslov has expressed his disappointment over the expulsion of two Russian diplomats by Athens, underlining that Greece-Russia relations had been upgraded and enhanced over the last few years.
Maslov told Sputnik in an interview that Greek-Russian relations had, until the recent turn of events, gone through a period of “an unprecedented flowering”.

Maslov cited the expansive political dialogue at the highest levels over the last few years, the Russia-Greece cross-cultural year in 2016, with numerous cultural events and exchanges, and the common Year of Tourism 2017-2018.

He also noted the close contacts between the two countries’ ministries, businessmen, and civil society.
“The moves by the Greek side, during the year marking the 190th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, and the 25th anniversary of the fundamental Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, have disappointed us,” Maslov said.

Maslov maintained that the comments of Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, on recent events were “correct and balanced”, whereas the Greek foreign ministry’s reaction was “excessive”.