Saint Petersburg---Vladimir Putin told foreign investors Friday his country would cooperate with the West despite persistent tensions as Russia and Greece agreed to build a gas pipeline amid a debt crisis in Athens.
Speaking at Russia's premier economic forum against a backdrop of tensions over the Ukraine crisis, the Russian president insisted Moscow was "open to the world."
"Our active cooperation with new centres of global growth in no case means that we intend to pay less attention to our dialogue with our traditional Western partners," Putin told the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum.
He touted his government's successes, saying a deep crisis due to Western sanctions over Ukraine and lower oil prices which many had predicted "had not happened."
"We have stabilised the situation," he said, appearing in a genial mood.
- Greek pipeline deal -
While many Western leaders shied away from the forum given the standoff over Ukraine, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was the star guest.
The embattled premier met Putin to discuss the debt crisis in Greece, which could default on looming loan payments and possibly leave the eurozone.
"The so-called Greek problem is not a Greek problem, it's a European problem. The problem is not called Greece, the problem is called Eurozone and it concerns its structure," the Greek leader said in a keynote speech.
Tsipras -- who has blasted sanctions against Russia -- said the crisis in Ukraine "opened a new wound of destabilization in the heart of Europe and from that sense it is a bad omen for international developments."
Although there appeared little chance that Tsipras would receive any bailout from Putin, the two countries did ink a preliminary plan for a new gas pipeline through Greece.
Russian energy minister Alexander Novak estimated the cost of building the Greek link at around two billion euros, adding the total volume of gas pumped will be 47 billion cubic metres.
The two countries will jointly own the venture, and Russia is expected to foot the bill.
"This is the start of a large investment project in Greece that is beneficial to the country's economy," said Novak.
Moscow announced the creation of the Turkish Stream project last year after it cancelled its South Stream gas pipeline to southeastern Europe -- which was already under construction -- as relations with the EU reached a nadir over Ukraine.
- 'Gap between plans and deeds' -
While Putin played down Russia's current economic woes, liberal allies including chief executive of Sberbank German Gref slammed the government's handling of the crisis.
"We have a gap between our plans and their implementation," he said in televised remarks, adding that Putin was interested in conducting reforms but "is afraid of making mistakes."
AFP
