Moscow should respect humanitarian law: Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman

By Magda Panoutsopoulou

ATHENS (AA) - Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexandros Papaioannou said Russia should respect international humanitarian law.

"We reiterated to the Russian side that they have an obligation to respect international law. Respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is non-negotiable," he said.

Speaking on state broadcaster ERT on Monday, Papaioannou condemned also a statement on Twitter posted by the Russian Embassy in Athens that strongly criticized the government, media, and other officials for "anti-Russian propaganda."

"We call on everyone, and especially the top officials, politicians, MPs, ministries and the media and various parrots, who were hasty to blame Russia for everything (as always), to come together and take over their responsibilities, to stop anti-Russian propaganda and to show composure, sobriety and seriousness," the statement said.

Papaioannou spoke harshly about the statement, saying that its wording was totally unacceptable.

On Sunday, the Greek Foreign Ministry lodged a demarche with Russian Ambassador to Greece Andrey Maslov, over the attacks in the Ukrainian villages of Sartana and Buhas, where 10 Greek nationals lost their lives and several others were injured.

Meanwhile, the Migration Ministry said on Monday that it would suspend, until further notice, the issuance and renewal of the investment visas for Russians under the golden visa scheme.

Under this scheme, Greece offers a five-year renewable residence permit to those who make €250,000 (around $280,320) of investment in the country.

Since Russia's war on Ukraine began last Thursday, it has been met by an outcry from the international community, with the EU, UK, and US implementing a range of economic sanctions against Russia.

Russia was further isolated after its planes were barred from flying in European and Canadian airspace, and several of its banks were kicked out of the SWIFT international banking system.