MOSCOW — The Greek and Russian Foreign Affairs Ministers Nikos Dendias and Sergey Lavrov concluded a meeting in Sochi on Monday that was followed by a joint press conference.

Dendias was welcomed to Russia by Lavrov and noted the special history of relations between the two countries, very evident particularly in southern Russia and at the coast of the Black Sea, where Greeks still have active communities.

The Russian official said that on this day Russia commemorated the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture. He added that Saints Cyril and Methodius came from Byzantine Thessaloniki to found and disseminate the Cyrillic alphabet in the 9th century, and the day of their meeting underlined further those bilateral relations.

On his side, Dendias said he appreciated Russia's acceptance of his proposal to visit the area where Greek communities still live, formulated during Lavrov's visit to Athens in October 2020, and said "Greeks appeared in the area 2,500 years ago and I believe played a key role in the creation of what is today's Russia."

"The reference to history shows the depth of our relations, and it affords me a great opportunity to discuss with you bilateral and regional issues in the hope we may further strengthen our relationship and understand wider issues," the Greek minister added.

Στις διευρυμένες συνομιλίες των αντιπροσωπειών 🇬🇷🇷🇺. Συζητήσαμε για τη διμερή & την πολυμερή συνεργασία, καθώς και για τις περιφερειακές εξελίξεις. Εxpanded talks between 🇬🇷🇷🇺 delegations. Βilateral & multilateral cooperation, regional developments in focus. pic.twitter.com/lbUGfM2E89

— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) May 24, 2021

 (ANA-MPA/Th. Avgerinos)