A top Russian official has declined to say whether his country is going to lend money to Greece, ahead of a meeting between the Greek and Russian leaders on Friday.
Greece is at an impasse in talks with its creditors to get more loans. Without the aid, it could default on a debt repayment of 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) on June 30.
While his government is locked in those talks, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is travelling to Russia, his second visit since April, to meet President Vladimir Putin. Tsipras' visit has given rise to speculation that the Greeks could be seeking Russian loans.
Tsipras is travelling with four cabinet ministers, arrived Thursday and is due to stay in St. Petersburg until late Friday, when he will meet Putin.
Asked by The Associated Press whether Russia is going to offer Greece money, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said he "cannot comment on specific decisions."
The Greek economy has also been hit by Russia's EU food imports ban, depriving it of millions of euros in agricultural exports, and although the Kremlin has indicated it could relax the restrictions on Greece, there has been no decision to do so.
Speaking on the sidelines of an investment forum in St. Petersburg, Dvorkovich said it is not surprising that the new Greek leader should visit Russia so often because Moscow and Athens "have both good political dialogue and specific investment projects and trade opportunities."
But he added that the visit could be interpreted as a message to Greece's creditors in Europe.
"For Europe it's also a signal from the Greek government that they are open to co-operation with any party," he said.
Greece's sudden rapprochement with Russia has given rise to speculation that Moscow might be using Greece and other countries to get a voice on its side when the EU meets to discuss whether to prolong the sanctions against Russia.
Dvorkovich said he hopes that Greece, Hungary, the Czech Republic and other nations could help Russia in the EU as he expects they "will be pushing politicians on both sides to gradually lift the sanctions."
When Tsipras visited Moscow in April for talks with Putin, Russia wouldn't offer any direct financial aid and the talks focused on joint economic projects, including a Greek extension of the prospective gas pipeline that would come from Russia to Turkey.
Putin said then that the pipeline would allow Greece to become a major gas transit hub, helping it increase its clout and earn it hundreds of millions of dollars in transit payments.
Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Thursday in televised remarks that he and his Greek counterpart will sign a memorandum Friday on building the pipeline.
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Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.
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