MOSCOW — With Russia and Greece at odds with Europe, this week’s visit from the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, “could not have come at a better time,” President Vladimir V. Putin said Wednesday.

Mr. Tsipras, who is in tough negotiations with other European leaders over international financial assistance that Greece needs to avoid bankruptcy, arrived here Tuesday night. His visit has raised eyebrows across Europe because of a perception that he may be trying to gain leverage by cozying up to Mr. Putin.

Mr. Putin, for his part, is suspected of pursuing a divide-and-conquer strategy to prevent the European Union from reauthorizing economic sanctions next summer. Those were imposed after the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea and stiffened after the Russian Army invaded southeastern Ukraine in August.

At a joint news conference at the Kremlin, the two leaders said that their discussions focused on economic issues, including trade, tourism and energy issues. Mr. Putin said that Mr. Tsipras had not asked for direct financial assistance from Russia.