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Russian diplomats expelled from Greece over alleged bribery attempt

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Two Russian diplomats attempted to commit bribery in Alexandroupolis, Greece, according to the Financial Times. The diplomats, who were expelled, were well known in Alexandroupolis, according to sources.

The diplomats were accused of working with businesspeople to bribe local government officials, Orthodox clergymen, and members of cultural associations and far-right groups across the north of the country in order to promote a backlash against the naming agreement signed last month between the leaders of Greece and Macedonia. The Russian diplomats are believed to have made payments to far-right groups through a local Greek businessman.

‘You can buy a lot of support for €20,000-€30,000 in places like Alexandroupolis where unemployment is high and young people are fed up with all the existing political parties,’ one person said. ‘It’s quite a sophisticated operation that takes place under the cover of promoting longstanding cultural ties between Greece and Russia and their shared Orthodox religious heritage’, a western diplomat stated.

Source: Financial Times

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