Athens , 7 February 2010

Journalist: Let’s go right to our telephone line. We have Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas. Good morning Mr. Droutsas.

Mr. Droutsas: Good morning to you and your listeners.

Journalist: So I wanted to ask, regarding your trip to the United States – what was your view of the news items, some comments, that you did not have a very long meeting with Ms. Clinton? But I think that the fact that the meeting took place perhaps dispelled the intimations that there may have been a problem in Greek-U.S. relations.

Is there such a problem?

Mr. Droutsas: I don’t think there is any such problem. I wouldn’t like to focus on any of those comments. I would like to focus on the substance of the matter. That it was a visit to an important country, a visit like one to many other countries, where on the one hand you have the potential to exchange views, to discuss the major international issues, and on the other hand you can present your positions on issues of direct interest to you.

And I think that when you have talks with U.S. officials, it has its significance. Because however you look at it, the U.S. is an important country in today’s international system. So it is important for that country, the officials of that country, to know our positions in detail. Greece’s positions on all the issues of mutual interest.

A visit and talks with officials on an equal basis – I want to stress – because a lot is said about Greek-U.S. relations. We have to get past these ideas, these perceptions of a small and frightened Greece and a large U.S.

I always stress: equal relations, talks, not just with the U.S., but with all the countries we visit.

Journalist: Mr. Droutsas, what would you assess as being the tangible result that came out of these meetings? And a further question, regarding Afghanistan. According to information, the Americans would like Greece’s participation in Afghanistan to be greater. Did you get such a message?

Mr. Droutsas: I got no such message. As I said, the talks took place in a very positive and warm climate. What was important for us was to was to transmit to the U.S., as well, the image we want for Greece.

Beyond the issues of particular interest to us – Cyprus, relations with Turkey, the issue of the name of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia – Greece can also play an important role on other issues, such as the Balkans.

We can play a role in developments in the Middle East. We are a bridge between Europe and that region. That is what we wanted to stress. That Greece has some advantages – it is a worthy ally and equal partner.

Journalist: A worthy ally and equal partner, Mr. Minister, but on the visa issue – which the previous Foreign Minister declared to be a top issue in Greek-U.S. relations – there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Did the Greek side make the wrong moves last November and thus not get the visa waiver?

Mr. Droutsas: I would like to clear this up, and thank you for giving me this opportunity. The visa issue is, of course, very important to Greece. It affects many of our fellow citizens who travel to the United States. And we want this relationship to be facilitated.

Let me make it clear that the Greek side has complied with all of the preconditions and requirements. There are procedures in the U.S. that have not yet been completed. My collocutors underscored to me that the Greek side is ready. Let’s not forget that there have been some incidents recently that have again caused agitation within the United States on international terrorism issues. And that is why there is particular caution regarding the final preparations.

As you raised the issue, rumours circulated to the effect that there was an opportunity in November to wrap the issue up and the government – for its own internal reasons and for promotional reasons and I don’t know why else – missed the opportunity. Let me take this opportunity to deny those rumours categorically. There was never any such issue: that the invitation from the U.S. side was “come and let’s wrap this up” and the Greek government said, “no, we’re in no hurry, let’s look at it later on.”

Journalist: Mr. Minister, as you referred before to the whole range of issues – Greek-Turkish issues, Cyprus, Skopje – why don’t you make public the Prime Minister’s letters to Mr. Erdogan, as the leader of the main opposition party, Mr. Samaras, persists in requesting.

Mr. Droutsas: For a very simple reason. I think that seriousness makes it imperative that we not play – if you will allow me to use that term – with the Greek Prime Minister’s official correspondence. We have briefed all of the political parties and public opinion on the contents of the letters, and I have also briefed Parliament and the Foreign Affairs Committee.

I have offered – and I will be doing this is the coming days – to brief the heads of the political parties one to one if they so desire, now that I am back from my trip. But allow me to say that I don’t think it would be advisable to make public the Greek Prime Minister’s official correspondence.

Journalist: So far, the criticism from the main opposition party consists in this: that this important action on the part of Mr. Papandreou indicates a change in the framework of negotiations between Greece and Turkey. So the opposition is noting that for the first time a Greek Prime Minister is accepting that apart from the continental shelf, there are other differences, whether to be the subject of Greek-Turkish dialogue or to be referred to The Hague. Is that how it is?

Mr. Droutsas: The opposition may say that, but it is not the case. We have stressed this repeatedly in public and from the floor of Parliament. And as I said, I will be very happy to have one-on-one meetings to brief those who are interested, so that we can clear this issue up.

Journalist: Does this hold for journalists, as well?

Mr. Droutsas: I understand that every opposition needs something in order to level criticism or start a public dialogue – something to oppose. I accept that. But I say once again, these allegations are unfounded.

Journalist: No, I assume that they want to be informed. It was simply agreed that the exploratory contacts would be intensified. We hear that you – very soon, perhaps in the second half of this month – will be going to Ankara. When will we have the next meeting on the level of Foreign Ministers as exploratory contacts? When will you go to Ankara? These things aren’t known.

Mr. Droutsas: The details haven’t been given out because the final details have not been agreed upon. But what you yourself said is known, and I think there was a detailed briefing after my meeting with Mr. Davutoglu. We have said that we want to relaunch a more intensive cooperation on various issues.

That is why we said that we will reactivate mechanisms that existed and still exist, at least on paper, from the past. There is a coordinating committee of the two Foreign Ministries, where the political directors look at and coordinate these efforts.  There will soon be a meeting of the two political directors. As has been announced – as I said after my meeting with Mr. Davutoglu – Mr. Davutoglu invited me to visit Ankara towards the end of the month or in early March. And I said that I will accept the invitation, provided the necessary preparations have been made by the political directors.

I want to stress that this is a process that we want to relaunch. A living, dynamic process. In which, beyond the official contacts on the level of Foreign Ministers, even on a political level, we want to try again to start things between various other agencies – the business community, on a cultural level, and other sectors – so that we can once again develop and build relations that are more positive and of greater trust between the two countries and the societies of our two countries. That is the thinking.

Journalist: Mr. Minister, it’s just that you said that it is not an issue of timeframes with regard to when your visit will take place or when the next meetings will take place on the level of experts and political directors. But the Prime Minister himself, according to what we know of his letter of reply to Mr. Erdogan – says that we must talk within a specific timeframe. Isn’t that the case? That is, should that be two years? Three years?

Mr. Droutsas: One does not preclude the other, I believe. When I talk about a dynamic process, that does not preclude that at some point we will have to see whether we have produced any results. So that we can see how we will proceed and whether there need to be other kinds of steps. That is precisely what the thinking is.

Journalist: If we look a little at history, Mr. Minister, when such efforts were made in 1999, their target was 2004.

Mr. Droutsas: Precisely.

Journalist: In Helsinki in 1999, 2004 was provided for as the date for recourse to The Hague, though it was a little unclear what would be referred to the ICJ; whether it would be just the continental shelf, or whether it would be other, related issues as well.

Mr. Droutsas: As you know, as you correctly said, there was this timeframe, which was provided for by the Helsinki decisions; that is, on the level of the EU itself. There was a change of government in Greece, and a change of approach on this issue.

Journalist: But in consensus with Mr. Erdogan.

Mr. Droutsas: As you know, we believe that a really big opportunity was lost and we could not get the results we wanted after five years of really systematic work.

Journalist: So I’ll hold on to what you said earlier: that criticism from the opposition of your wanting to refer additional differences is unfounded, and that you are standing firm on the Greek position on the continental shelf.

Mr. Droutsas: This has been the longstanding Greek position for decades now. As far as we are concerned, at least, nothing has changed.

Journalist: Do you expect any change on the Skopje issue from Mr. Nimetz’s visit? Are you expecting a new proposal that might be a basis for discussion?

Mr. Droutsas: We are not expecting a new proposal. There is no such issue. What we are waiting for is – at long last – a more constructive stance on the part of the political leadership of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, so that we can see if we really can resolve this issue. The Greek position – I will never tire of saying this in every direction – is clear and well known. It is our national red line, and they will have to bear this in mind.

Journalist: The fact that you are not expecting a new proposal may mean one of two things, and allow me to venture an interpretation. It means either that the previous proposal from Mr. Nimetz is still valid – Republic of Northern Macedonia – or that the talks are essentially bogged down and that we shouldn’t expect anything.

Mr. Droutsas: I would say we should wait for the coming weeks and the developments they will bring. These are negotiations. And as I said, the Greek position is clear and well known to everyone.

Journalist: Great. Mr. Minister, I see that cutbacks are underway. I just wanted to ask whether you can tell us – generally – if the Foreign Ministry will contribute to curtailing expenditure?

Mr. Droutsas: I think that the Foreign Ministry is already making very major efforts through the means at its disposal. A lot of cutbacks have been made, and I want to take this opportunity to thank all of the associates, all of the employees of the Foreign Ministry.

Not just the Diplomatic personnel, but all of the personnel divisions we have at the Foreign Ministry, for their understanding and real cooperation; the spirit of cooperation they have shown.

Wherever possible, we have made cutbacks on transport and trips and operational costs at the Ministry. We are looking at new approaches to how we can make the necessary cutbacks and cut out – I don’t hide this – waste that may have occurred in the past.

We want to look at the potential for reforms that will enable us to make further cutbacks, such as better use of new technologies – doing away with all the paper, for instance. The Foreign Ministry – like every Ministry – is making a real effort and a serious effort in this direction.

Journalist: Mr. Minister, I’d like to thank you very much. We’ve been with Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas, and we thank him for talking with us.

Mr. Droutsas: Have a good day.

Athens, 6 February 2010

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to inform all the members of non-governmental organizations who are currently in Haiti and the Greek citizens living in the country that the aircraft for Port-au Prince departing from Athens on Monday, 8 February 2010, at 07:00 (Haiti local time) will remain in the country for 4 hours. Those Greek citizens who are in Haiti and wish to be repatriated should arrive in the airport premises before 07:00 a.m. (Haiti local time).

Athens, 5 February 2010

In answer to a question regarding NGO funding, which was raised for parliamentary debate by the President of the LAOS political party, Mr. Georgios Karatzaferis, and supported by LAOS MP Mr. Adonis Georgiadis, Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Spyros Kouvelis stated that the funding procedure provided for in the relevant Regulation is only approved by the Foreign Ministry if certain conditions are met. A competent Committee carries out the evaluation.

If the proposals comply with regulatory provisions and with the objectives set, then the Ministry recommends their funding. Within the framework of controls carried out by Ministry officials, there have been cases of NGOs that did not meet their contractual obligations. 

There are also provisions for claiming funds back from NGOs that have not complied with their obligations. This has happened on quite a few occasions. But there have also been cases where we asked the former Economic Crimes Enforcement Agency (SDOE) to assist us, when this was not done properly. And of course, these sums are also payable through the Tax Services,” pointed out Mr. Kouvelis.

He went on to say that the government’s priority is transparency. This is why all contractual and funding agreements will be made available on the internet from now on. “Citizens will be able to monitor the progress of every single project funded, i.e., they will know the reasons why each organization has received funds and to which purpose they will be used, as well as the progress of each project’s implementation.” Mr. Kouvelis also mentioned that this has been the established practice around the world and within the European Union and Greece has, of course, no reason not to follow it.

He also pointed out that the objective is to mobilize Greek know-how, the Greek people, the physical presence of volunteers etc. The aim is for Greeks to be present in countries where development assistance is granted. Economic diplomacy is a very important tool for the promotion of our country’s economic interests and bearing this into account, the government wants to make the most of Greek NGOs.

Finally, with regard to the large number of such organizations, Mr. Kouvelis mentioned that there is an NGO registry. The government wants this registry to include also elements regarding relations with each NGO, in order for the evaluation of proposals to take into account each Organisation’s past projects and consistency.

Athens, 5 February 2010

Mr. Kouvelis: I welcomed Mr. Zhang Zhijun, who is carrying out a tour of European countries, to Greece. Our country is his last stop on his way back to China and I was given the opportunity to welcome him and also extend an invitation to other Chinese high-ranking officials to visit our country, in continuation of the communication and exchange of visits between the President of the Hellenic Republic – who visited China in 2008 – and the Chinese President, Mr. Hu Jintao, from which both sides had positive impressions.

Our discussion touched upon the age-old relations between our two countries and the issues that unite us such as the Olympic Games – held in Athens first and then, Beijing — and, of course, our significant economic relations and the need to promote economic cooperation between our two countries.

We talked about cooperation in many areas such as shipping, trade, energy and, not least, renewable sources of energy, and we also pointed out Greece’s interest in the 2010 Shanghai Word’s Fair, to be visited by several Greek government officials and perhaps also the Prime Minister himself.

I have committed myself to visits and discussions with co-competent Chinese Ministers on issues of economic, cultural and tourism cooperation with China, which is obviously a very important and reliable partner for Greece; our cooperation with China should move forward on every level.

Mr. Z. ZHIJUN: I accepted the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister’s invitation to visit Greece for diplomatic talks between our Ministries with great pleasure.

We exchanged views on the history of our bilateral relations’ development and our future cooperation in specific sectors and reached a significant conclusion: we both agreed that there are no problems in our bilateral relations. The only challenge and task we are faced with is to make joint efforts to further deepen and enlarge our bilateral relations.

2010 is an important year in the history of our bilateral relations. It will be our pleasure to welcome the Greek leadership to the opening of Expo 2010 - Shanghai Word’s Fair. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Greek Prime Minister for his kind invitation to our Prime Minister.

I believe that the exchange of visits between high-ranking officials will further broaden mutual political trust between our two countries and bolster our economic, trade and cultural cooperation.

We regard Greece as China’s reliable friend and partner within the European Union and we believe that Greece will continue to play an active role in further developing EU-Chinese relations.

Finally, I am looking forward to my counterpart’s visit to China soon. Thank you.

Athens , 5 February 2010

Mr. Droutsas: I just met with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-moon. We had a very good discussion. We also had the pleasure of having the SG just a few months ago in Athens. So it was a good continuation of our talks at that time. I also had the pleasure of meeting with the SG few days ago in London, in the framework of the International Conference on Afghanistan. We discussed especially issues of specific Greek interest and concern. The developments in Cyprus, the negotiating process in Cyprus. The SG informed me about his recent visit to the island. We also tackled upon the issue of the name of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and I had the opportunity of outlining again the Greek position and expressing the willingness and the wish of Greece and the Greek government to contribute constructively and positively in the negotiating process for finding a settlement; a solution to the name issue of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Besides that, we also had the opportunity to discuss major international issues and developments like the climate change and the Copenhagen Summit. We also discussed the Development Summit that the SG is initiating in the framework of the next General Assembly, where PM George Papandreou will certainly be present and will lend his full support to these activities. We also discussed the issue of piracy in Somalia. Once again it was, as always, a fruitful discussion with the SG and I had the opportunity of expressing our thanks for all his efforts and his commitment, and of course the full support of Greece and the Greek government to all the activities of the UN.

Journalist: Mr Droutsas, do you share the SG’s optimism about the events on Cyprus?

Yesterday, actually, he told us that he expects the talks to intensify even though there are the so-called “elections” in the north.

Mr. Droutsas: It is certainly an important period in the negotiating process on Cyprus.

We have to encourage both leaders, President Christofias and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Mr. Talat, to take advantage of the next days and weeks to come and try to intensify their talks. However, I would like to stress the fact that maybe time is not always your friend, but the quality of the solution of the settlement for Cyprus should not be a victim of any kind of time frameworks. Therefore we have to use all of our efforts and energy to try to take advantage of the next weeks, but certainly it is also necessary that the Turkish Cypriot side will show a constructive attitude in order to reach a settlement.

Journalist: In the morning you said you are not very optimistic; or you said it is a little bit difficult to be optimistic about the ongoing negotiations. Did you share this feeling with the SG?

Mr. Droutsas: We had, as always, a very frank discussion with the SG, and I had the opportunity to outline our analysis of the facts so far. Especially judging from the latest proposals that are issued by Mr Talat, that in our view are not going in the necessary, right direction. We feel that they do not really give us all necessary opportunity and possibility to be very optimistic. But still, again, we want to encourage both sides, both leaders, to try and take advantage of the next days and weeks to come and reach a settlement.

Journalist: If I may, quoting directly the SG “President Dimitris Christofias told me that he will issue some sort of plan for further negotiations despite the plan in northern Cyprus and that is quite encouraging”. What is this plan?

What kind of plan will you back?

Mr. Droutsas: We will back and we are always backing all sincere efforts to find and come up with a settlement which is on the basis of the relevant UN resolutions, which is respecting the principles of the EU, and which is respecting the acquis communautaire, the rules of the EU. I would like to stress and emphasize that the Republic of Cyprus is a member-state of the EU, and after a mutually agreed settlement will still be a member-state of the EU, which means that it will also have to be able to function efficiently within the EU. This is in the interest, to the benefit of all Cypriots, both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, and of course in the interest of the EU. So, in this regard, we have to emphasize that the settlement reached will be fully respecting the European acquis, the rules of the EU. In this context, we see that President Christofias is addressing these issues and the negotiating process in a very constructive and courageous way, and I would like to express from here, once again, the full support of the Greek government for his efforts.

Journalist: To follow up on a statement you’ve made this morning on your country’s stance in the Middle East policy. You’ve mentioned that your country is standing to be elected next year in the Human Rights Council. That Council spends a great deal of its time, one figures it has spent 80% of its time on resolutions condemning Israel. Would you use your seat to try to influence the Council to deal with at least with some of the major Human Rights problems in some other countries in different part of the world?

Mr. Droutsas: Elected as member of the Human Rights Council – which we very much hope – or not, Greece will always make all necessary efforts to promote Human Rights wherever in the world it is necessary.

Journalist: IMF director is quoted on the French radio saying “if Greece asked for its help the IMF would intervene,” and in a press conference held after you spoke this morning the IMF said that it has a technical team in Athens and that the government has welcomed its activities there. Can you explain what is the IMF team doing in Greece and what relation does Greece have with the IMF?

Mr. Droutsas: I will repeat, once again, what I have said in the morning; that there is no thought at all of Greece turning to the IMF. Greece is a member of the Eurozone. Greece has presented a very credible and serious program and proposals for necessary measures to stabilize the Greek economy. We have put forward to the EU our three-year program to stabilize the economy, and that was accepted yesterday and fully backed by the European Commission. Also, major EU member-states have with official statements expressed their support and their confidence in the Greek economy and the Greek government and the measures taken, and I think this is the important message we should focus on.