Athens, 29 October 2009

Ms. R. Bizogli: On the line now with us, ladies and gentlemen, as we said earlier, is Alternate Foreign Minister Mr. Dimitris Droutsas, who is in Brussels for the Council of the European Union. Good afternoon, Mr. Droutsas.

Mr. D. Droutsas: Hello, Ms. Bizogli, hello Mr. Koutras.

Mr. B. Koutras: Good afternoon.

Mr. D. Droutsas: Good afternoon.

Ms. R. Bizogli: So let’s start with the Prime Minister’s meeting on the sidelines of the Summit with Nicola Gruevski. Have they set a time?

Mr. D. Droutsas: The time has been set, but before we start let me wish your radio station and your show good luck.

Ms. R. Bizogli: Thank you very much; all the best to you too.

Mr. B. Koutras: Thank you very much.

Mr. D. Droutsas: All the best; all the best.

Ms. R. Bizogli: To you as well.

Mr. B. Koutras: Good luck to you too.

Mr. D. Droutsas: Thank you. So this afternoon, as you know, an informal meeting of a few minutes will be held on the sidelines of the European Council, following yesterday's telephone communication between the two men, in which Mr. Papandreou asked Mr. Gruevski – given that both men will be here in Brussels – to meet him for a few minutes informally, for the two to get to know each other. Get to meet each other, see where we stand on this issue.

Mr. B. Koutras: Mr. Droutsas, I suppose that beyond this formal meeting, there is a hidden message, and we see that the new government started to make its entrance more dynamically, more aggressively, I would say, on major national issues.

We first saw the Prime Minister’s visit, along with you of course, to Istanbul. We see now, I would say, an opening towards Skopje, we see a turn – at least at the level of procedures - in Greek foreign policy.

Mr. D. Droutsas: Mr. Koutras, I am glad to hear these words from you, that the new government is entering dynamically on issues of foreign policy. This is precisely what we were saying before and straight after the elections, as well as in the government’s policy statements, i.e., that we want to exercise once again a dynamic foreign policy of initiatives, we want Greece to be present on all international developments, and get back the voice it deserves and needs for its own national issues, for negotiations on its own issues.

Mr. B. Koutras: This does not presuppose a change of stance, I suppose, Mr. Droutsas. You and the Prime Minister have drawn a red line – let’s say – on the Skopje issue and also on the occasion of today’s meeting. We are not following a different tack at the moment, I suppose.

Mr. D. Droutsas: Allow me to make it once again absolutely clear and remind you of our policy statements, in which we said clearly that Greece’s positions on all the issues are clear and known to everyone. There is no question of that.

Mr. B. Koutras: What do you expect from this meeting, Mr. Droutsas?

Mr. D. Droutsas: What we have been changing, if you will, Mr. Koutras…

Mr. B. Koutras: Please, yes.

Mr. D. Droutsas: … is precisely the way of approaching things, the manner in which foreign policy is conducted. We argue that we should not sit and simply adopt a defensive stance. We should take initiatives, create opportunities, potential, possibilities to capitalize on…

Mr. B. Koutras: OK. Mr. Droutsas, do you hope that there will be a change in the stance of Skopje on this issue because of our own different approach?

Mr. D. Droutsas: This is our objective Mr. Koutras. We want to show that Greece exists, that it is here with clear positions, the well-known red lines, but also with an open mind. We would like to hope that the other side will abandon the path of intransigence and extremist rhetoric that it has been following over the past few years, that it will look at these issues in an objective and constructive manner and realize itself what is in the real interest of their country and their people.

It is in their interest to move towards the European Union, and the key for progress to be made towards the EU is the resolution of the name issue, we’ve seen that clearly ...

Ms. R. Bizogli: Do you have such signs from Mr. Gruevski, because I saw a meeting he had with Mr. Solana, where his statements were in about the same spirit as in previous days, in previous months. Do you have new signs from Mr. Gruevski?

Mr. B. Koutras: That the veto was not Greece’s right choice, if you will …

Mr. D. Droutsas: I think it is early for anyone to say there are new signs. I will not disagree with you, that the signs so far are the well-known signs. We made this move; it was our own initiative, an initiative of the Greek Prime Minister, for an introductory meeting.

We hope that our friends in the neighbouring country will get the right messages and change their stance. I cannot get ahead of things or say anything more at the moment; it’s too soon. We hope that our policy will make the other side realize what is in its own interest.

Ms. R. Bizogli: Mr. Droutsas, I read your interview with Reuters, and in it you set a new target date, i.e., 2014, by which date you hope that all these countries – including of course Skopje and Turkey – will be able to join the European Union.

Mr. D. Droutsas: We’ve said the following: Our immediate neighbourhood, the Balkans, are a privileged space for Greece, they are of paramount importance, they are our priority. In the past, in 2003, when George Papandreou was Foreign Minister and Greece held the EU Presidency, we had managed to build a very good policy and a momentum for the accession of these countries into the European Union.

This momentum has fallen off in recent years and we are now taking the initiative to say we want to set a political target date, a realistic and correct prospect for these countries.

We opted for 2014 for symbolic reasons, because this date marks 100 years from the beginning of World War I, and one could simply say that this is the root of the problems that we have been facing in our region, and this is why we have been saying that 100 years later the European Union – as the most successful peace project – should assume its responsibilities and create the necessary stability in the region of the Balkans, because this region is also at the heart of Europe.

Ms. R. Bizogli: Mr. Droutsas, might Mr. Papandreou visit Skopje and have direct talks there?

Mr. D. Droutsas: I think it is way too early to talk about that. I stress once again that this is our own good-will initiative, an informal meeting of a few minutes.

I don’t think that there is any reason to interpret this move in various ways. We simply want to show our goodwill and we’ll see how things go.

Mr. B. Koutras: So Mr. Droutsas, if the name issue is not resolved at the December summit, Greece will veto the start of accession negotiations for Skopje. Isn’t that right?

Mr. D. Droutsas: I would prefer the wording that I’ve repeatedly used …

Mr. B. Koutras: Go ahead.

Mr. D. Droutsas: The start of accession negotiations is within the exclusive competency of the European Union’s member states, so it is also up to Greece, whose precondition for the opening of accession negotiations with Skopje is the prior resolution of the name issue. And the Greek position on this issue – our national red line as we’ve called it – is clear and well known to everyone.

Mr. B. Koutras: Let us quickly move on from Skopje to Ankara and Greek-Turkish issues, Mr. Droutsas. I wanted to talk a bit about Ankara. How are Greek positions shaping up on this issue, also in view of the summit that will decide whether negotiations between the European Union and Turkey will continue?

Mr. D. Droutsas: I think that our position is clear on this issue as well. The Prime Minister’s visit and presence in Istanbul on the occasion of the SEECP meeting there under the Turkish Chairmanship of the Organization.

The Prime Minister’s presence in Istanbul and the meeting he had with the Turkish Prime Minister were aimed at sending this message precisely: that Greece is also present on this matter as well; the Turkish people know very well the work we carried out in the past to bring the two countries closer together and I think they have appreciated Greece’s efforts, and particularly our efforts regarding EU accession …

Mr. B. Koutras: But the important thing, Mr. Droutsas, is whether there is a change in their stance, isn’t that so?

Mr. D. Droutsas: Pardon?

Mr. B. Koutras: It is important to what extent the government’s political positions are affected, not just …

Mr. D. Droutsas: Of course. So we say: here we are. You know our own approach, you must – and that is what we expect from you, the Turkish side – show the same spirit and change your tactics on the issues between us.

These are the issues of full respect for international law, the Cyprus issue of course, the issue of respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity; there must be compliance on all these issues – and we said that clearly to Turkey. We are here with an open mind to cooperate. We expect a positive response from the Turkish side.

And I want to stress one last thing, if I may: there is once again a date on our calendar, the December European Council, which will judge, as you know,  …

Mr. B. Koutras: It will judge both issues.

Mr. D. Droutsas: Turkey’s European course will be evaluated on the basis of its actions until that date, it will be evaluated objectively, but also strictly.

Ms. R. Bizogli: Mr. Droutsas, before we go, I would like your comment on the international impact of this new terrorist attack on the Police Station in Agia Paraskevi.

Mr. D. Droutsas: Look, one thing is certain: this is an incident that we must all condemn in the strictest manner, something the government has already done. I would not like to go into a discussion of what the international impact may be, no such issue can be raised.

Mr. B. Koutras: But let me remind you, Mr. Droutsas, that terrorism has been cracked down on in the past with the help of foreign countries: Great Britain, the United States. This is a police matter that is not under the remit of the Foreign Ministry, right.

Mr. D. Droutsas: The Greek government is doing all that is required in order for the necessary measures to be taken towards addressing these incidents.

Ms. R. Bizogli: Thank you very much, Mr. Droutsas. Good afternoon from Athens.