Soviet's visit to Greece to signal warmer ties

Soviet Premier Nikolai Tikhonov is scheduled to travel to Greece later this month, the first such high-ranking Soviet visit there in many years and an apparent reflection of improved relations with the government in Athens.

A commentary in the Moscow newspaper Sovietskaya Rossiya linked the visit with what was termed ''a period of (political) renewal in Greece under Socialist Premier Andreas Papandreou, Monitor correspondent Ned Temko reports. Moscow has occasionally lamented the fact that Greece has stopped short of fully honoring campaign pledges to trim participation in NATO - but has otherwise made clear its satisfaction with the change in government.