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작성일 : 15.01.30 | 조회수 : 175

제목 : Putin's meddling in Europe is not limited to Greece 글쓴이 : eu-center
첨부파일 첨부파일: 첨부파일이 없습니다.

In his address to the Russian public, Mr Putin did not skirt the subject of Ukraine


The undisguised glee with which the Kremlin has welcomed the victory by Greece’s hard-Left Syriza party in last weekend’s elections should be a matter for grave concern among European policymakers.

Ever since the EU squared up to Russia last year over its illegal annexation of Crimea and military meddling in eastern Ukraine, Vladimir Putin has been looking at ways to destabilise the European project.

There have been well-documented reports that Mr Putin has been using his network of former KGB officers to fund a number of Right-wing parties in Europe, including giving loans worth millions of pounds to Marine Le Pen’s Front National in France, which advocates an uncompromising anti-EU agenda.

But now, if the Kremlin’s response to Syriza’s victory is anything to go by, it appears the Kremlin is not simply looking to back Right-wing anti-EU parties.

So far as Mr Putin is concerned, any party that is likely to cause the Brussels establishment discomfort is fine with him. So it can be no coincidence that the first well-wishers knocking on the door on Syriza’s victorious leader and newly elected prime minister Alexis Tsipras has been the Russian envoy to Greece, Andrei Maslov, who handed over a personal letter of congratulations from Mr Putin, in which he urged closer relations between the two countries.

Indeed, the new Greek government has already signalled its willingness to adopt a pro-Russian stance by criticising plans by the EU to toughen sanctions against Moscow in retaliation for Russia’s increased military involvement in eastern Ukraine, where the authorities say up to 9,000 Russian troops are now actively backing the separatist militias.

Given that the new Greek government’s first priority is to challenge Brussels over the crippling austerity package that has been imposed on Greece, the dramatic change to the country’s political landscape does not bode well for Europe’s attempts to pressure Moscow to back down on its aggressive stance in eastern and central Europe.

Indeed, the fact that the Kremlin now appears to have a new ally at the heart of Europe will only serve to encourage Mr Putin in the belief that he can strengthen Moscow’s position by inflicting further political carnage at the expense of the EU.


read more :

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/vladimir-putin/11376265/Putins-meddling-in-Europe-is-not-limited-to-Greece.html


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