KOMOTINI – The Democritus University of Thrace (DUT) awarded its gold medal to Russian President Vladimir Putin “for his exceptional contribution to regional stability and prosperity,” at an event in the Russian Embassy in Athens, the embassy announced on Monday.

DUT rector Stavros Toupoulidis said during the event on Friday that the Russian president has contributed steadfastly to the preservation of the Orthodox spirit of peace and friendship and to establishing mutually beneficial relations between Greece and Russia.

Russian Ambassador to Athens Andrey Maslov said the DUT has contributed greatly to the Greek-Russian relations in the humanities and in promoting Russian culture and language. He also said that the Russian center established at the university in collaboration with the Moscow-based Foundation Russkiy Mir (Russian world) will open in 2018.