Russia weighs in on the Greece debt crisis

Russian President Vladimir Putin has weighed in on the Greek crisis, phoning both the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Greek government to discuss Russian cooperation in the wake of Sunday's Greek vote against further austerity.

Greeks overwhelmingly voted against the bailout conditions being imposed by the country's creditors after the Greek government, led by far-Left party Syriza, failed to agree an alternate deal with lenders and instead held a referendum for the people to decide.

Over 60% of Greeks voted against accepting the bailout deal, leaving the eurozone in uncharted waters as Athens cannot borrow money on capital markets, while it boasts one of the world's highest levels of public debt.

But while the rift between Greece and the rest of the eurozone has grown, Russia has grown increasingly close to the troubled country. The two nations agreed to construct a joint gas pipeline last month and both Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Putin have been outspoken when praising each other's countries.

In February, Tsipras was forced to directly deny that his government would seek financial aid from Russia as an alternative to dealing with Brussels.

However, yesterday evening Putin called IMF chief Christine Lagarde, in order to discuss Russian cooperation with the IMF in its handling of the Greek referendum decision according to a statement issued last night by the Kremlin. The statement did not expand on further specifics.

This followed a statement published by the Kremlin earlier that afternoon which detailed a phone call between Tsipras and Putin. According to the Kremlin, the two leaders discussed Greece's relationship with its creditors as well as "future developments of Greece and Russia's cooperation", with Putin voicing his support for "the people of Greece"

Putin's aide Dmitry Peskov denied that the phone calls were linked to any potential aid offering from Russia to Greece.

"The search for an optimal solution for resolving the Greek debt crisis will continue, taking into account the interests of all parties," Peskov told Reuters.