Background Pontic Greeks historically inhabited the northern coast of the Black Sea and
Crimea,
Kursiver Textthe latter of which was incorporated into the Russian Empire in the latter half of the 18th century. During the early years of the
Kievan Rus',
Vladimir the Great of what is now Russia and
Ukraine sent out various missionaries to study different
faiths that would suit the country, and most crucially, for him. One of his missionaries travelled to the
Byzantine Empire and experienced enlightenment for themselves as they had come across
Eastern Orthodoxy being practised in now modern-day Greece. The missionary described it as being
Heaven on
Land. This began the very first ties and cultural similarities between Russia and Greece.
William Martin Leake, who traveled through the Ottoman Empire roughly between 1800 and 1810, wrote in his work
Travels in Northern Greece that the Greeks in the
Delvino region at that time held a very negative view of the Russians due to their conduct in the
Orlov Revolt and their administration of the
Septinsular Republic. Russia assisted the Greeks against the
Ottoman rule prior to and during the
Greek War of Independence that broke out in 1821.
Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first Governor of the
First Hellenic Republic, had previously served as Russia's
foreign minister. The Russian Empire established diplomatic ties with the Greek State on 6 September 1828. The second queen of modern Greece was born
Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia, granddaughter of
Tsar Nicholas I. The
Kingdom of Greece and the
Russian Empire fought for the Allies during the
First World War against the Central Powers and Greece fought during
Second World War and the
Soviet Union fought for the Allies against the Axis powers. In the autumn of 1920, Soviet Russia, having concluded a
friendship treaty with the
Government of the Grand National Assembly in March 1921, began to extend material assistance, in both gold and arms, to the
Mustafa Kemal's regime in Ankara, thus significantly contributing to his military success during the
war against the Greeks in Asia Minor, where the
Greek genocide was completed as a result in 1922. The USSR and the
Kingdom of Greece established diplomatic relations on 8 March 1924. Most ethnic Greeks living in Crimea as well as other regions near the
Black Sea in the Soviet Union were
deported to the east of the country in
three waves of forced resettlement in the 1940s. A significant number of Soviet Greeks, especially those living in the
Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic and other Central Asian Soviet republics, emigrated to Greece in the late 1980s and the early 1990s, shortly prior to the
end of the Soviet Union. According to Western intelligence officials, Greece's society and political establishment have been deeply penetrated by the Soviet and later the
Russian espionage agencies.
Diplomatic spat of 2018 In early July 2018, the government of Greece expelled two Russian diplomats and barred the entry of two others accusing them of undermining Greece's national security. The move was made public, which was seen by experts as unprecedented in mutual relations. Amid the subsequent acrimonious exchange of official statements, Greece accused the
Russian Foreign Ministry of "disrespect for a third country and a lack of understanding of today's world, in which states, regardless of their size, are independent and can exercise an independent, multidimensional and democratic foreign policy". Following Russia's retaliatory move in early August, it was revealed Greece intended to recall its ambassador, Andreas Fryganas, who had been appointed in May 2016. The
Greek Foreign Ministry′s statement on 10 August 2018 stated: ″Since [Russia] began
fighting as a comrade in arms with
Turkey, providing it with a number of facilitations in the security sector, it appears to be steadily distancing itself from positions befitting the level of friendship and cooperation that has characterized Greek-Russian relations for the past 190 years. It appears not to understand that Greece has its own interests and criteria in international politics". The statement accused Russia of ″attempts to a) bribe state officials, b) undermine its foreign policy, and c) interfere in its internal affairs″. After talks with
Vladimir Putin, both leaders expressed hope that the spat between the two countries was in the past, bilateral agreements were signed and international issues like the
Cyprus dispute were discussed. Tsipras said that he had expressed to Putin his concern at Turkey buying advanced weapons, such as
S-400 missile systems, from Russia. Experts noted that Greek-Russian relations were not as they had been prior to the spat because of the growing importance of Greece's strategic military ties with the US, and military co-operation between Russia and Turkey was increasing. On 13 December 2018, in Washington, D.C., the Greek Foreign Minister and the American Secretary of State formally launched what they called "the inaugural U.S.-Greece Strategic Dialogue", which Greek Acting Foreign Minister
Georgios Katrougalos characterised as ″a procedure that shows the upgrading of our relations with that country″ and ″the apex of our bilateral relations″.
Prespa agreement Russia has been accused by certain Greek politicians and parties of having sought to thwart the
Prespa agreement, reached in June 2018 between Greece and
North Macedonia, which was meant to resolve the
dispute over the latter's name and was seen as removing the main obstacle for
North Macedonia's accession to NATO. On 14 January 2019, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a commentary that referred to the agreement as the "Prespa deal" and stated that the decision by the
Parliament of North Macedonia to change the country's name had been imposed from outside and did not reflect the will of the people and came "with an aim of pulling
Skopje into
NATO as soon as possible". The statement went on to cite "the recent developments in Greece — withdrawal from the government coalition of the
Independent Greeks Party leader,
Panos Kammenos, coming out against the Prespa accord" as evidence that stability and security in the Balkans was thus being undermined. The ministry suggested that "the issue must be considered by the UN Security Council in accordance with Article 3 of
UN Security Council Resolution 845". The Russian Foreign Ministry's statement on the Prespa agreement was condemned by Greece, whose official statement concluded by saying, "We express our certitude that Russia, which has for years recognized F.Y.R.O.M as the 'Republic of Macedonia' will respect the sensibilities of the Greek people in using the name Macedonia and will henceforth refer to this country with its new constitutional name, i.e. 'North Macedonia', and most importantly that it will refrain from such statements, which constitute an intervention in Greece's interior affairs".
2022 diplomatic crisis and reactions After the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine started, Greece, as one of the EU countries, imposed sanctions on Russia, and Russia added all EU countries to the list of "
unfriendly nations". A diplomatic crisis sparked between Greece and Russia, when the latter's air forces allegedly bombarded two
Greek minority villages near
Mariupol in
Ukraine, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, killing 12 ethnic Greeks. Greece protested strongly, summoning the Russian ambassador.
France's President
Emmanuel Macron, and US Secretary of State
Antony Blinken, along with Germany,
Poland,
Sweden and other countries, expressed their condolences to Greece for the massacre, while Moscow denied any involvement, with the Russian embassy claiming a Ukrainian far-right militant organization, the
Azov Battalion, was behind the incident. Athens refuted Moscow's claims, announcing evidence of Russian involvement. Following this, Greece's Prime Minister
Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced Greece will send defensive military equipment and humanitarian aid to support Ukraine. Almost all parties in the
Greek parliament have denounced the invasion. Mitsotakis' decision to send military equipment to Ukraine has been challenged; only
New Democracy and
KINAL were in favor. On the other hand, the majority of Greek people did not approve of sending the weapons; according to a recent poll, 63% of Greeks believe that the action puts relations with Russia at risk, while only 33% agree on providing Ukraine with military equipment. In March 2022 60% of Greeks considered Russia's invasion unacceptable, and in May 2022 the majority supported sanctions against Russia. The diplomatic crisis between the two countries continues as the invasion is in progress. On March 6, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman
Maria Zakharova accused Greece of anti-Russian propaganda, which goes against the countries' historical ties. The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs described Zakharova's statements as "unacceptable", insinuating that Greece has not opposed Russia in any way as of then. Greece joined other countries in spring 2022 in
declaring a number of Russian diplomats persona non grata. Through 2022 and 2023 military equipment was provided to Ukraine, with the Greek Government confirming support for Ukraine and a need to punish Russia for war crimes. In August 2023 Greece offered to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters. ==Military cooperation==