Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to visit Greece on Friday, in what will be his first E-U trip in a year. The visit aims to strengthen bilateral ties. A series of cross-cultural exchanges are taking place through 2016, which has been designated as the 'Year of Greece in Russia, Russia in Greece.'

It’s been nine years since President Putin’s last official visit to Greece. This time he arrives as Russia’s relations with Europe are frayed over Ukraine. Geopolitics remain uncertain and complex. But Russia wants to make its presence more obvious in the region. And alliances have become more important than ever.

"The Balkans, the Aegean, the Middle East are the medium-abroad territory. Russia has never been active there. Now it is. So it wants to secure partners, or at least to secure that states like Greece, which belong to the Euro-Atlantic structures will not oppose its attempt to become active in the wider region that extends from the Middle East till the Black Sea," Dr. Constantinos Filis with Institute of international Relations, said.

Greece recently started construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline, transporting gas from Azerbaijan to Europe through Greece and Albania. Russia has tried unsuccessfully to gain access through Bulgaria and Turkey. Those efforts continue through southern Europe and especially Greece.

In the last decade, several energy projects between Greece and Russia have been discussed and even agreed to but none has been implemented. This time high on the business agenda is the revival of the South Stream pipeline, transporting Russian natural gas to southern Europe.

But analysts say the project, known as South Stream Two, which also goes through Italy, is full of barriers, among them Europe’s reluctance to allow a Russian energy presence on the continent.

"The idea behind the revival of South Stream is to bypass Ukraine because Russia has said that in 2019 it will cut all supplies to Europe through Ukraine. Europe cannot leave Ukraine on its own in this game. So it is very cautious in accepting projects that bypass Ukraine and serve only Russian energy interests. Which means, if we want the South Stream to be implemented we need to find the necessary political and business lobbying in Brussels. And Greece and Italy alone cannot do it," Dr. Constantinos said.

Russia has reportedly also expressed interest in various privatizations in Greece, such as the Greek Railway System and the port of Thessaloniki, through which it could gain access to the Mediterranean.

"I think that Moscow will again try to test to what extent its relations with Europe can improve through its participation in privatizations. But on the other hand, Russia knows that if it wants to acquire a share in the Greek privatization program it needs to play and adapt to the rules that are set by the Europeans. And this is not always easy,"  Dr. Constantinos said.

Over the years, religious and historic ties have kept Greece and Russia close. Bilateral ties may have chilled mostly because of Greece’s economic crisis. Still President Putin’s visit to Athens could be seen as another sign that they are far from fraying.