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M. Continuo

Greece's Tsipras, Russia's Putin to hold phone talks at 1000 GMT - official


    ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold telephone talks at 1000 GMT to discuss cooperation in business and energy sectors, a Greek government official said on Friday.

    The talks come hours before Tsipras addresses parliament on the state of negotiations with lenders for aid amid a fierce backlash from his party over a proposal offered by the euro zone and the International Monetary Fund.

    Russia has been speculated as a potential source of funding for Greece if it fails to reach a deal with EU and IMF lenders. Athens has denied plans to turn to Moscow for help.

    (Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Writing by Karolina Tagaris, editing by Deepa Babington)