"I wish happiness and success to the Russian people. And I wish success to the World Football Cup. Since Greece is not taking part in this championship at all, I wish the Russian team to achieve the best results and reach the final," Kotzias said at the meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The minister added that his visit was timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the friendship agreement between the two countries.

"We are very happy to welcome Russian tourists who, as we expect, will come to us in large numbers at the end of the World Cup," Kotzias added.

Greece failed to qualify for the tournament in Russia, meaning they will miss their first Word Cup since 2006.