ANKARA
Russia announced Sunday its intention to help Greece through its economic difficulties by expanding cooperation in the energy sector.
“The Russian Federation plans to support the renewal of the Greek economy by expanding its cooperation in the energy sector. We are studying the possibility of organizing direct deliveries of energy to the Greek government to begin in the near future,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said in a statement Sunday.
He added that an agreement is expected to be reached in the next few weeks.
The statement comes after plans were announced last week for a €2 billion Russia-Greece gas deal.
The announcement comes as Greece seeks to reach a bailout agreement in a meeting with eurozone leaders in Brussels on Sunday.
Greece has proposed a €53.5 billion ($59 billion) three-year bailout, and has conceded on many key economic reforms to its creditors.
However, the Eurogroup reportedly did not find that Greece had gone far enough, particularly in labor market reform.
