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1. Cooking the books has not been restricted to Greece. – Other countries including some would argue France, have also done so.

2. The article suggested that both the EU and Greece would have been better off if Greece had not joined the Euro. Is that in doubt? There was no suggestion that Greece should not have joined the EU.

3. See quote “Tsar Nicholas I was the traditional champion of the Greek Orthodox, who insisted on Russia being confirmed by the Porte as the protector of the Holy Places and of all Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire.” - See more at: http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/crimean-war-begins#sthash.VjpnQnel.dpuf

4. The 1000 year link with Russia is cultural. – Christianity and indeed the Russian alphabet were introduced by Byzantine monks following on from Saints Cyril and Methodius.

5. There was a civil war in Greece post the second world war, with Greek communists supported by Yugoslavia and Albania as well as Bulgaria. It was not a war between Greece and the USSR. The left still has a strong presence and support in Greece as the election of Syriza shows.

6. The argument that is being made is that the EU is a political construct whose prime purpose is to ensure peace in Western Europe. Undertaking actions that threaten to drive Greece into close economic and possibly political ties with Russia is not in the EU’s interests in that respect. That should trump the economic issues.