The leaders of the two countries also discussed some issues of further development of Russian-Greek cooperation, the Kremlin press service says
MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin in a telephone conversation Monday has discussed with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras the results of Sunday’s referendum in Greece, where around 60% of voters rejected the terms put forward by international creditors.
The Kremlin press service said the talks were held on the initiative of Athens.
The leaders of the two countries also discussed "some issues of further development of Russian-Greek cooperation." "Vladimir Putin expressed support for the Greek people in overcoming the hardships that the country now faces," the Kremlin said.
A referendum that took place in Greece on Sunday, July 5, was held to determine whether people support or reject terms of international creditors put forward to settle the country’s bailout crisis. The results showed that 61.31% of voters rejected terms of creditors, while 38.69% spoke in favor of supporting them.
Since 2010, when Greece’s sovereign debt started to grow, the European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave Athens almost 250 billion euros in loans. Though some part of the debt was written off in 2012, Greece currently owes more than 315 billion euros, or 175% of its GDP, to international creditors. The indicator significantly exceeds the EU standards according to which sovereign debt should not be more than 60% of the country’s GDP.
