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By Bloomberg

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said they want to restore the relationship between their two countries as they began talks in Moscow, amid signs of schism among some European Union states on whether to maintain sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

Russia was Greece’s leading trading partner until recently and they need to discuss “what to do to restore the pace of growth” after trade volume fell by 40 percent last year, Putin said at the meeting on Wednesday. He told Tsipras he was “very pleased” to meet him in person and “very pleased to receive you in Moscow on the eve of Orhodox Easter.”

The purpose of his visit is revitalize the relationship for the benefit of both countries, Tsipras, who described sanctions as “senseless” last week, said. There are deep, long-standing ties between Greece and Russia, he said.

EU sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine along with falling oil prices have hurt Russia’s economy, which is sliding into its first recession in six years, while Greece is locked in talks with its euro partners on getting more bailout funds. Tsipras is seeking ways to save or raise money. Putin is looking for an ally to undermine the EU’s position, as a unanimous vote of the 28 member states is needed to renew the sanctions when they expire in July.

Trade Ties

The EU imposed sanctions after accusing the government in Moscow of sending troops and weapons to support pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine, an allegation Putin rejects.

Russia was Greece’s biggest trading partner in 2013, with two-way exchange of almost $10 billion, mostly due to imports of Russian natural gas, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Russia countered the EU’s penalties by imposing sanctions on some $10 billion of food imports from the trade bloc in August. Greece is seeking to lift the ban for its agricultural products, though European Commission spokesman Daniel Rosario warned on Tuesday that member states should “speak with one voice to all our trade partners, including Russia.”

Greece should not put European unity “on the line,” European Parliament President Martin Schulz said, according to Germany’s Bild newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday.

A Greek government official said Tsipras and Putin will discuss the possibility of lifting the ban on agricultural products, adding that any decision taken would have to be in line with EU policy.

Rescue Talks

EU countries should “decide jointly how to deal with” sanctions on Russia, though “I’m sure that nobody would mind” if Russia selectively lifted its ban to allow imports from Greece, Gernot Erler, the German government’s coordinator for relations with Russia, said in an interview with ARD television on Tuesday.

Greece is locked in negotiations with euro-area countries and the International Monetary Fund over the terms of its 240 billion-euro ($261 billion) rescue. The standoff, which has left the EU’s most-indebted state dependent on European Central Bank loans, risks leading to a default within weeks and a potential Greek exit from the euro area.

The government this week came up with a demand for German reparations for World War II of about 280 billion euros ($304 billion), which was dismissed as “dumb” by Chancellor Angela Merkel’s deputy Sigmar Gabriel.

Greece is paying about 450 million euros to the International Monetary Fund on April 9 and needs about 1.5 billion euros a month to pay salaries and pensions. The government aims to complete talks on a package of economic reforms needed to unlock more funding in time for a meeting of euro region finance ministers on April 24.