MOSCOW--The chief executive of Russian state gas firm OAO
Gazprom will fly to Greece on Tuesday to meet with Greek Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras, as Athens seeks an economic leg-up from
Russia amid tensions with the European Union over much-needed
financing.
Greece, which is locked in tough talks with European leaders on
the extension of a bailout, has asked Russia for a discount on the
price it pays for natural gas. Russian and Greek officials have
also discussed Greece" participation in a gas pipeline intended to
take Russian gas to the EU via Turkey.
Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller will meet with Mr. Tsipras
on Tuesday, a spokesman for Gazprom said, declining to comment
further on the trip.
Asked about a German news report that Russia could hand Greece
EUR3 billion-EUR5 billion ($3.2 billion-$5.4 billion) in
prepayments for the extension of the "Turkish Stream" pipeline,
Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said, "For what? I don't
understand what you're referring to."
Mr. Tsipras spent two days in Moscow earlier this month at the
head of a government delegation, where he met with Russian
President Vladimir Putin and criticized EU sanctions against
Russia. But the trip contained no public announcement of major
economic deals, such as a cheaper gas price or a hoped-for
exemption for Greek products from a Russian ban on European
agricultural products.
Write to James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com
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