Andrey Maslov, Russian Ambassador to Greece, told journalists that Russia’s relations with Greece will not be affected by the result of the ongoing procedure to ratify an agreement signed between Athens and Skopje.

Mr Maslov responded to questions during a briefing on a recent trip of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“The ratification or not of the Prespes agreement will not affect relations with Greece,” he said, highlighting the importance to resolve the long-standing dispute on the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Following a diplomatic incident in the summer that saw two Russian diplomats expelled from Greece for allegedly meddling with the name deal and another two people barred from entering the country, Mr Maslov reassured the press that “relations between the two countries have normalised”.

“For us, it makes no difference. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was clear about this almost a year ago,” the Ambassador said when asked whether Russia plans to veto the deal at the UN Security Council.

“Whatever name Athens and Skopje agree to for FYROM, if this is decided officially and enshrined in the constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, then we will certainly recognise it,” he added even though he made it clear that Russia disagrees with FYROM’s accession in NATO, noting it will force his country to implement countermeasures.

Moreover, Mr Maslov also sought to reassure Greece regarding Turkey’s acquisition of Russian S-400 missiles, saying that “the country has nothing to fear as both countries are NATO members”.

“It is Greece’s right to promote plans which meet national interests and become an energy hub in the region, despite the malicious reactions of third parties,” he concluded welcoming the Greek PM’s interest in TurkStream, the natural gas pipeline running from the Russian Federation to Turkey.