ATHENS – It wasn’t said why but Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be coming to Greece to mark the country’s 200th anniversary of independence from a four-century rule of Ottoman Occupation although it earlier was said he would, reported the business newspaper Naftemporiki.

The big event is the March 25 Independence Day parade although it’s unclear whether it would be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic after the New Democracy government was said to be mulling a hard lockdown that could extend that far.

Greece's defense minister, Nikos Panagiotopoulos earlier said Putin, along with French President Emmanuel Macron and Charles, the Prince of Wales, had been invited and were expected to come as their nations helped the cause.

A combined English, French and Russian fleet sank the better part of an Ottoman-Egyptian armada in Navarino Bay in October 1827, a critical benchmark that helped the still struggling Greek rebels gain the country’s independence finally.