Tzanakopoulos: Case with expelled Russian diplomats ‘closed’

In comments to Real FM on Monday, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said Athens considered the issue regarding the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Greece to be resolved.

"We took the measures we needed to take and at the moment we consider the matter to be finished," he said.

Describing the affair as "sensitive," Tzanakopoulos noted that the government has always been independent in forming its foreign policy which he described as "multi-faceted."

He repeated that Athens expected "respect for the Greek government and the Greek state."

He added that the expulsion of the two diplomats does not mean that Greece has changed its foreign policy.

Asked to comment on the claim by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov according to which Washington was behind the decision to expel the diplomats, Tzanakopoulos said this was an erroneous assessment.

"Russia is a significant partner for Greece and that is not changed by the recent incident," he said.