Mount Athos governor visits Russia

The civil governor of the semi-autonomous monastic community of Mount Athos in northern Greece, Kostantinos Dimtsas, paid an official visit to Russia on Wednesday, following an invitation by the governor of Saint Petersburg, Alexander Beglov.

According to press reports, Dimtsas met with Beglov, who noted the common spiritual, historical and cultural roots of Russia and Greece expressed by Orthodoxy and Mount Athos.

For his part, the Greek official called on Russians to visit the monastic community.

Dimtsas also met in Moscow with Russia's prosecutor general, Yury Chaika, and Igor Levitin, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin.