JOURNALIST: The Greek government has pointed up the issue of guarantees
\nas a key issue of its foreign policy. Is this policy paying off? Is it
\ngaining ground internationally?<\/p>\n
N. KOTZIAS: First of all, let\u2019s
\nagree that it is a correct policy that places the Cyprus issue on its
\nreal foundations. The Cyprus issue is not first and foremost an issue of
\n dividing natural resources or of disputes between the communities. It
\nis a problem of the occupation and use of violence on the level of
\ninter-state relations. When we stated publicly to the international
\ncommunity that the occupation forces must leave Cyprus and that we have
\nto be done with the anachronistic and oft-violated system of guarantees,
\n we were stating the truth. We pointed to the core of the solution of
\nthe Cyprus issue, as far as we are concerned, in an institutionally
\ncorrect manner and based on international law.<\/p>\n
The impression I
\nhave is that more and more people understand that there cannot be a
\nsolution to the Cyprus issue without our doing away with the
\naforementioned system. China and Russia understand it positively. The
\nsame goes for France. Britain is not interested in insisting of the
\nrights of guarantees, but the rights to the bases, which is an issue on
\nwhich the Cypriot government has exclusive responsibility. I think that
\nthe discussion has to a degree shifted from whether or not the
\nguarantees are needed to what can follow them.<\/p>\n
JOURNALIST: You
\nrecently met with Turkish officials in New York. What did you understand
\n to be their reaction to your position on doing away with the
\nguarantees?<\/p>\n
N. KOTZIAS: I also discussed the issue with them
\nduring my visit to Turkey a few months ago. They have their views, but I
\n think they are now aware that there cannot be a real solution to the
\nCyprus issue if the guarantees system is maintained; that the Cypriot
\npeople \u2013 the Greek Cypriots in particular \u2013 will not accept the
\ncontinuation of this system. Attempting to maintain the guarantees means
\n a pretext for non-solution of the Cyprus problem. A member state of the
\n European Union cannot be subject to third-country guarantees. Moreover,
\n guarantees for a state that is being set up are one thing, and they are
\n another for an existing state. Let me put it another way: Guarantees
\nare given to a state to safeguard it from third countries, not as a
\npretext for occupation by third countries. And you will be aware that
\nthe Treaty of Guarantee has been violated time and again. According to
\nthe Treaty, the use of rights takes place under three conditions: a)
\nconsultation with all of the parties, b) to take action to restore the
\nstate of affairs in case of disruption, and c) immediate withdrawal.<\/p>\n
Do
\n I need to explain to you that Turkey has violated all of these
\nconditions for exercising guarantor rights? I don\u2019t think so. Perhaps
\nTurkey, with pragmatism, will at some point admit the truth: that it is
\nin its own interest to withdraw from such rights. But this is not
\nsomething that happens automatically, and it depends mainly on Turkey
\nitself.<\/p>\n
JOURNALIST: You have been working on the Cyprus issue for
\n years. Do you think that the current state of affairs if favorable for
\nachieving a solution?<\/p>\n
N. KOTZIAS: The circumstances have never
\nbeen exactly right for resolving the Cyprus issue. There have always
\nbeen positive sides that favored a solution, together, in \u201csymbiosis\u201d,
\nwith negative ones. In the positive column, the actions of the Republic
\nof Cyprus, I value the work of my colleague, Foreign Minister Ioannis
\nKasoulides, very highly. And that Athens isn\u2019t involving itself in
\nCyprus\u2019 domestic issues, while it is helping decisively with regard to
\nthe guarantees. I also put among the positive factors the person who is
\nleading the Turkish Cypriot community, because he still has a Cypriot
\nconscience and only needs to think and act autonomously. The difficult
\npoints at this time include the economic crisis Cyprus is going through \u2013
\n and Greece even more so \u2013 and, to a degree, a \u201cnatural\u201d suspicion as to
\n where many of those involved are taking things. These negative points
\ncan be overcome with patience, composure, democratic dialogue and
\nmaximum communication of the real facts and developments. Finally, there
\n is also a long-term difficulty that has to do with the war crisis; the
\ninstability and insecurity in the wider region.<\/p>\n
JOURNALIST: Can an agreement include deviations from the Community acquis, as the Turkish side is asking?<\/p>\n
N.
\n KOTZIAS: I wonder whether it is asking for them only with regard to
\nCyprus, or also in order to create a precedent for its own negotiations
\nwith the European Union. There are deviations in a number of the
\nEuropean Union\u2019s agreements with third countries that are in the
\naccession process or have even joined the EU. But in the vast majority
\nof cases these are temporary, transitional deviations, and they never
\nhave to do with the fundamental principles of the European Union. What
\nTurkey is asking for is very different from the above. Turkey is asking
\nfor permanent deviations and on issues that are fundamental to the very
\nexistence and identity of the European Union. That is, the European
\nUnion is being asked to alter its very physiognomy, to renounce
\nprinciples and values on which it was founded, such as freedom of
\nmovement and establishment of persons. And this cannot be accepted by
\nanyone \u2013 neither by us nor, in particular, by the Commission, which,
\naccording to the treaties, has to safeguard the Community acquis.<\/p>\n
JOURNALIST:
\n You have often referred to respect for minority rights \u2013 and this is
\nthe first time this has happened with regard to the Cyprus issue. What
\ndo you mean on this issue.<\/p>\n
N. KOTZIAS: The decision-making system
\n provided for by the various schemes for a solution to the Cyprus issue
\nhave, as a rule, ended up with the decisions being taken by certain
\ninstitutions with the participation of foreigners. My proposal was that,
\n for this system, we could think about using \u2013 instead of foreigners \u2013
\nrepresentatives of the three separate population groups beyond the two
\ncommunities: the Maronites, the Latins and the Armenians. I believe that
\n such a proposal would be very persuasive, despite the objections from
\nthe other side. It would show that, beyond the communities, we want the
\nrights of all of the existing religious and ethnic groups in Cyprus to
\nbe guaranteed. And, moreover, this shows that when we defend the human,
\npolitical and social rights of the citizens of Cyprus, we want to do so
\nfor everyone, without exception, and we mean it.<\/p>\n
JOURNALIST: Do you confirm that your meetings with Mr. Eide are always difficult and are carried out in a tense atmosphere?<\/p>\n
N.
\n KOTZIAS: No, quite the contrary. I think they are extremely
\ninteresting. As you may know, I have studied all of Mr. Eide\u2019s texts,
\nand his book on security in particular. And I urge him to deal with the
\nCyprus issue based on these very texts. I also urge him not to forget
\nfor even a second that he is a representative of the UN and thus of
\ninternational law and the UN Security Council resolutions on the Cyprus
\nissue, which are binding in excluding the use of violence in
\ninternational relations and the occupation of the territory of a UN
\nmember state. I think he listens carefully to these and many other
\npositions that I set out in the meetings. Similarly, I, too, listen to
\nhis concerns. In discussions, there are moments of difficulty and
\nmoments that are relaxed. The truth is, I am not an easy collocutor. But
\n that is my duty. I think that Mr. Eide appreciates that I always go to
\nour discussions very well prepared, as I should. I am sincere and I want
\n the Cyprus problem to be resolved. To be resolved correctly and justly,
\n of course.<\/p>\n
JOURNALIST: Greece and Cyprus have an important role
\nto play in the wider region. Trilateral cooperation with Egypt and
\nCyprus. How is their role being upgraded geopolitically, and how is this
\n strategic added value being capitalized on?<\/p>\n
N. KOTZIAS: Like the
\n Republic of Cyprus, Greece is a pole of stability and security within
\nan unstable triangle that has Ukraine, Libya and Syria\/Iraq at its
\nvertices. Within this triangle, Greece and Cyprus emit waves of
\nstability. Contributing to this are the two countries\u2019 policies on
\nIsrael and Palestine, their joint cooperation with the former, and with
\nEgypt. There are now thoughts of a similar configuration with Jordan. In
\n this way we are endeavoring to establish \u201cinternal lines\u201d of stability
\nwithin the triangle of instability. I think that the powers that want
\nstability and security in the region appreciate these choices deeply. At
\n a time when Greece is economically and financially weak, there are
\nthose who are trying, in the name of this weakness, to have us back down
\n from the positions of relative geopolitical power that we have. We have
\n made precisely the opposite choice: We are trying to introduce our
\nrelatively stronger position in geopolitical issues into the
\nnegotiations that have to do with the debt. And, to a degree, this has
\nbeen achieved. Finally, we will not allow anyone to exploit the
\nmigration and refugee currents to add geopolitical power to themselves
\nwhile their own failures in Syria are paid for by third countries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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