Minister of Culture & Sports Lina Mendoni ordered the suspension of any current or upcoming activities and events held in Greece in collaboration with Russian cultural organisations, the ministry said on Monday.
This directive includes any planning or discussion of relevant events, it was noted.
It is noted that beginning from last year and continuing into this year is the Year of Greek-Russian History, which coincided with the 200-year anniversary since the start of the Greek Revolution.
It was to continue until the middle of 2022, following a decision of the two governments, but now appears to have stopped.
Meanwhile, Greece has suspended issuance and renewal of residence permits to wealthy Russians investing in Greece “until further notice”, the migration ministry said on Monday.
“New requests will not be accepted and no applications for the category ‘business executives’ for citizens of the Russian Federation will be considered,” the ministry said in a statement.
It did not clarify whether previously issued visas will be affected.
Under its “golden visa” scheme, Greece offers a renewable five-year resident’s permit in return for a 250,000 euro ($280,350) investment.
Speaking to state television, Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said that nearly 2,500 residence permits have been issued to Russian citizens since the program was launched in 2013 and that Greece has attracted more than 3 billion euros in investment since then.
In addition, Greece’s biggest gaming firm OPAP on Monday halted betting on Russian sport events in solidarity with Ukraine where a Russian invasion continues.
OPAP said it has stopped offering betting on any match related to Russian competitions, including football, basketball and volleyball, either online or through its outlets in Greece.
“In these extremely difficult times, all our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people,” OPAP said, adding that all bets place in Russian matches so far were considered valid.