UPI: Russia denies report of €5B pipeline deal with Greece

After a similar natural gas transportation system was taken off the table in December, the Russian government is said to have promised debt-stricken Greece 5 billion euros in advance of a new pipeline to help deliver gas to Europe -- a reported deal Moscow denies.

Word of Russian financial help comes as the cash-strapped Greek government faces hefty bills to the International Monetary Fund and other organizations -- including a due amount of nearly a billion euros next month. Last week, Athens made a 450 million euro loan payment to the IMF.

Germany's Der Spiegel reported Saturday that Russia's payment of three to five billion euros to Greece would be an advance on returns from the Turkish Stream pipeline -- which will reportedly provide Moscow with transit fees in the future.

Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, denied his government is offering such a deal, Britain's The Telegraph reported.

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