Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, called Greece out in a statement highlighting an “anti-Russian information campaign in Greece”.

Reiterating Russia’s arguments for going into war, or as Russia states says a ‘special military operation’, Zakharova accused Greece of disregarding longstanding ties with Russia to align itself with “collective Western plans – to do harm to Russia at all costs”.

In the official statement she said: “We noted the unprecedented campaign launched in Greece to defame Russia’s policy. Senior officials in Athens allow themselves to make crude accusations against our country and its leadership, they are literally competing with like-minded people in it. They hypocritically speak of an ‘unprovoked attack’ against Ukraine, for the first time since World War II, a ‘mass invasion’ and so on.”

Zakharova went on to say that the war is essentially a byproduct of the US and its satellites, adding that “wars and conflicts have shaken the world for all the last decades – the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, the operations in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Afghanistan. No one has taken responsibility for the enormous sacrifices and sufferings of the peoples of these countries”.

“Today, the crimes of the Kiev regime, which came to power as a result of the bloody coup of 2014, are overshadowed by the new wave of anti-Russian criticism,” she said.

“The fact that Crimea and Sevastopol paid for their free reunification with Russia with total blockade and Western sanctions is silenced. In the besieged Donbass, as a result of the neo-Nazi Ukrainian clearing operations, more than 14,000 civilians have been killed in the past eight years, and it has been suggested to Russians to leave Ukraine. The meaning of the daily shootings can be explained, among others, by the Greek expatriates who live in the territories of the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic.

“The European Union has chosen to silently watch the extermination of the Donbass civilian population, and has been complicit in the long-running genocide of people in southeastern Ukraine.

“Now Europe, including Greece, is fully integrated into the ranks of the Kiev regime’s advocates, while the Russophobic hysteria cultivated by the authorities has reached a boiling point. On this profoundly wrong basis, criminal decisions are made, including the shipment of weapons to Ukraine. Eventually, weapons will be turned against civilians, including Greeks, who are being used as human shields by Ukrainian nationalist battalions and who have already fallen victim to this inhumane tactic.

“In the name of collective Western plans – to do harm to Russia at all costs – common sense has been sacrificed. Bilateral ties are being deliberately damaged, and Russian-Greek relations, unfortunately, are no exception. Athens actively supports the EU sanctions regime. They accuse us of so-called “energy blackmail”, proclaiming the goal of rapid independence from Russian gas, whose uninterrupted supplies have been a stabilizing factor for the national energy sector for decades. Under the collective direction of Brussels, the Greek sky closed for the Russian airlines. The order was given to suspend all cooperation in the field of culture, to terminate the Common Tribute Years. There are calls for a complete cessation of any cooperation. Essentially, for the sake of vague and dubious goals, the Greek leadership is ready to nullify our own common historical heritage, which only yesterday it called its natural advantage in cooperating with Russia.

“Time will put everything in its place, it will show who was right and who – at the critical moment – showed a lack of insight, made the wrong choice. We believe that the eternal bonds that unite the peoples of Russia and Greece will withstand these trials as well”.

The Greek Foreign Ministry, responded via Alexandros Papaioannou stressing that the Greek foreign policy is a principled policy and has always been based on complete respect for international law.

“Greece contributes to, and is bound by, the decisions of international organisations it takes part in, such as, among others, the European Union and NATO,” Papaioannou said.

“A main concern of our country’s is to promote truth, on the basis of confirmed and irrefutable facts. Every effort to promote fake news and disinformation, aiming to mislead public opinion, is to be condemned, wherever it comes from. The recent statements of the spokeswoman for the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the (social media) posts of the Russian Embassy in Athens are, unfortunately, unacceptable. They do not comport with diplomatic practice, or the historical bonds connecting the Greek and Russian people. Greece would like to see historical relations maintained and Russian behavior reflecting this,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, the Russian military resumed its offensive after delaying the evacuation of civilians from two besieged cities in southeastern Ukraine, including Mariupol, AMNA reported.

As a result thousands of people who were in the process of being evacuated in humanitarian convoys including Greek nationals had to turn back.

“Due to the Ukrainian side’s reluctance to exert influence over the nationalists or to extend the ‘ceasefire’, the operations resumed at 18.00 Moscow time,” Russian Ministry of Defense spokesperson, Major-General Igor Konashenkov  said in a video message.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias contacted his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba on Sunday requesting the Ukrainian authorities’ assistance in ensuring the safety of the Consul General in Mariupol and in opening humanitarian corridor for evacuation. In a phone call with OSCE Secretary General, Helga Maria Schmid Mr Dendias requested the housing of the Consulate General in Mariupol in the OSCE building and the coordination of creating safe humanitarian corridors from the city.

I contacted #Ukraine counterpart @DmytroKuleba requesting the Ukrainian authorities’ assistance in ensuring the safety of the 🇬🇷 Consul General in #Mariupol and in opening humanitarian corridor for evacuation.

— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) March 6, 2022