A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman’s testy allusion on Thursday to a bevy of countries Moscow now considers as “hostile” included Greece, with a warning-cum threat that Athens is pursuing a “provocative, confrontational course” against the Russian Federation and taking “openly unfriendly steps”.

Maria Zakharova made the intimidating statement during a regular Kremlin briefing and in reaction to a decision announced during Ukrainian President Volodymyr’s lightning visit to Athens on Sunday, by which Greece and Kyiv will consider the prospect of jointly producing and deploying unmanned maritime vehicles (UMVs).

Ukrainian forces have used such UMVs with deadly results against Russia navy assets and infrastructure in the Black Sea since the Russia invasion of eastern and northeastern Ukraine in February 2022.

According to a Tass news agency quoting Zakharova, “Greece is pursuing a defiant, confrontational course vis-a-vis Russia, taking openly unfriendly steps… Athens was among the first to send weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, which the armed forces of Ukraine use daily against civilians in the regions of Donbass, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Crimea, and other southern regions of our country…and all this despite the fact that Greeks have lived in these regions from time immemorial,” she told mostly local reporters covering the press briefing, and while again calling the government in Kyiv as a “Nazi regime”.

“”This step, like many other anti-Russian actions by the collective Western world aimed at defeating Russia on the battlefield, has been duly assessed by us and will be followed by an appropriate response,” she maintained.

During a press conference on Sunday in Athens Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and the visiting Zelensky said they agreed to deepen defense cooperation with a focus on strengthening maritime security, including cooperation in the development and use of UMVs, as well as conducting joint exercises and training related to such systems, along with information sharing on maritime threats.

Swift, albeit unofficial reaction by Athens

Hours after Zakharova’s inflammatory comments, diplomatic sources in Athens emphasized that Greece is acting exclusively in accordance with international law and has a self-evident right to conclude inter-governmental agreements such as the ones with Ukraine, which also included guarantees for energy sufficiency and security, which are prerequisites for human prosperity. Threats against sovereign states are automatically rejected.”

“Threats against sovereign states are automatically rejected,” media reports quoting the sources related.