(Source: http://www.lawinrussia.ru/node)

The Russian authorities are ready to discuss the issue of allocation of multiple loans with the Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras, in case Russian state companies gain control over some Greek assets, as “Kommersant” newspaper writes on the eve of the  official visit of Tsipras to Moscow. 

The Deputy Head of the Ministry of Defense of Greece Kostas Isihos, representing the country in the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Industrial and Scientific-Technical Cooperation, told to the newspaper that the delegation from Athens plans to “agree upon a beginning of a new spring in the relations between the EU and Russia” or at least in the bilateral relations. During the visit the new Prime Minister of Greece will meet the President Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, the Speaker of the State Duma Sergei Naryshkin and the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Kirill . 

The main topics for discussion at the first three meetings, according to the edition, will be the level of interest of Athens in the construction of the “Turkish Stream” gas pipeline. According to the newspaper, last week the Minister of Energy of Greece Panayiotis Lafazanis came to Moscow to ask for a discount on gas starting from next year and mitigating of conditions of the “take or pay” principle of setting fines in case the volumes of gas purchased are smaller than planned. Instead, the Greek authorities are allegedly ready to offer to the Kremlin the participation of Russian companies in tenders for oil and gas exploration on the shelf of the Ionian Sea.

According to the source of the edition in the Russian government, the Russian party is ready to listen to the offers made by Greeks concerning a discount on gas and discuss the possibility of granting new loans. “But we are, in our turn, interested in counter-movement  - particularly in terms of receiving certain assets in Greece by Russia” - he stressed.

The possible options named by “Kommersant” include the gas company DEPA, the privatized railway operator TrainOSE and the sea ports of Athens and Thessaloniki. “Gazprom” and “Russian Railways” were interested in these projects earlier. During the talks in Moscow they can also raise the topic of supplies of Greek products covered by the embargo to the Russian market, the embargo being introduced in response to the EU sanctions. According to the representative of the Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Monitoring Service Aleksei Alekseenko, Greece may be given the opportunity to sell cheese after inspections of livestock companies.