The Russian government is willing to discuss with Greece the possibility of a loan and a discount on the price of gas, according to a Sputnik report. With Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras visiting Moscow on Wednesday, there is a lot of speculation on what Tsipras and Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss. “We are ready to discuss the issue of providing Greece with a discount on gas: under the contract, its price is tied to the price of oil, which has dropped significantly in recent months. We are also ready to discuss the possibility of issuing new credit to Greece,” an anonymous government source told the Russian daily Kommersant on Tuesday. Greece, which imports around 65 percent of its natural gas from Russia, also intends to deepen energy cooperation with Moscow, with the proposed Turkish Stream pipeline set to carry Russian gas across Greece. Russian authorities are interested in acquiring certain assets in Greece and that would be the condition for the allocation of a loan to Greece, should the issue be discussed, the Russian news agency report says. Greece has taken a pro-Russian stance on the issue of sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union over the Ukraine issue. Tsipras has stated the Ukrainian crisis should be approached on a diplomatic level. Relations between Greece and the EU are strained after Tsipras announced that Athens could abandon austerity measures imposed by international creditors. The Greek prime minister’s impending visit to Moscow has prompted top European officials to make negative comments on the issue.
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