JOURNALIST: Mr. Minister, first of all what is your assessment of the results of the Cypriot chairmanship of the CoE? Did it succeed, and to what degree? What was its most significant achievement?
N. KOTZIAS: As I also said during my short speech today, Cyprus showed once again that it is the small countries that have the best chairmanships of international organizations, because they are interested in and anxious about meeting their needs. The Republic of Cyprus and its chairmanship – and this was acknowledged by all sides – were excellent. I believe that the Convention we signed on the protection of cultural property from organized crime was one of the most important from the perspective of our interests.
JOURNALIST: What priorities will the Czech chairmanship have? Will it continue the Cypriot line, or will it change the priorities?
N. KOTZIAS: I think the Czech chairmanship will continue with the priority of protecting human rights, democracy and the supremacy of the rule of law, but it will also put its own stamp on the chairmanship, through a focus on the problems of the region of central and eastern Europe.
JOURNALIST: Given the ongoing persecution and the violations of human rights, did the Committee of Ministers discuss the issue of Turkey?
N. KOTZIAS: A number of ministers talked about the issue, and some of them very sternly.
JOURNALIST: The Parliamentary Assembly has put Turkey under monitoring.
N. KOTZIAS: Yes, and I should mention that the Secretary General of the Council of Europe - in his brief remarks - dedicated half of his time to Turkey, expressing his solidarity with this country and at the same time making observations regarding the violations of human rights and the dismissals of civil servants.
JOURNALIST: You weren't in Parliament, of course, for the developments in Greece's domestic affairs. The vote was held, the review was passed. What now?
N. KOTZIAS: But my vote was cast and counted.
JOURNALIST: What are Greece's prospects following the agreement that was reached?
N. KOTZIAS: I will speak from the perspective of the Foreign Minister. There is great interest in making investments in Greece. For example, when I was in Beijing, an agreement between FORTHNET and ZTE was signed for an investment of €500 million in fibre optics; an investment in new technology. The total of the investments agreed upon in this field – of the ones I noted – was €1.7 billion, which means that there is great positive interest. Many, many international players are open to coming to invest in Greece. And I stress that, when I say international players are interested in investing, I don't mean coming to buy existing wealth. What I'm interested in are investments that want to create new wealth in the country, and particularly in the sector of new technologies. That is, the country's big problem, in my opinion, is how Greece can avoid missing the boat on what we call the fourth industrial revolution, which is the spread of new technology in a way that makes people's lives easier and, at the same time, increases the country's productivity.
JOURNALIST: There are some people who say it's wishful thinking that we will see growth in 2017. How do you respond to them?
N. KOTZIAS: There will be growth in 2017, but this growth would be greater if our partners hadn't pushed us to extremes.
JOURNALIST: If the debt isn't restructured, how will Greece be able to stand on its feet again?
N. KOTZIAS: The restructuring of the debt has been agreed since the summer of 2015, and, as the prime minister said last night, it is time for them to meet their commitments, because they think "what's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine."
JOURNALIST: You said President Anastasiades' proposal for jump-starting the negotiations is very interesting. What is the focus of this proposal?
N. KOTZIAS: I have the sense that president Anastasiades will talk about his proposal soon, so I won't get ahead of him. What I want to say is that, as I understand it, he puts the substantial problems of the Cyprus issue first.
JOURNALIST: Has the Turkish Cypriot side backed down on anything?
N. KOTZIAS: I don't want to voice an opinion on a negotiation that concerns the internal dimension of the Cyprus issue. What I do want to say is that the President of the Republic of Cyprus reflected on the experience of the two year's of negotiations and he made a proposal for unblocking these negotiations. It seems – at least for the time being – that it appeared odd to the Turkish Cypriots in relation to what they have in mind. I hope they sleep on it and reconsider.
JOURNALIST: The Cypriot government spokesperson told the AMNA, regarding the possibility of a new conference, that it isn't just a matter for the Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, but also a matter for Turkey, Greece and Great Britain. Is Greece ready for a new meeting in Geneva?
N. KOTZIAS: Before we went to Geneva in January, we submitted written proposals on the issue (security/guarantees) we have a say on. There was no response then. Our proposals are on the table.
JOURNALIST: And there was no response in Beijing either?
N. KOTZIAS: The response in Beijing is that the Turks will enter into a dialogue.
JOURNALIST: My last question is this: all this time, Turkey has been threatening the Republic of Cyprus with regard to energy issues, mainly west of the island. If Greece had proceeded to the delimitation of the continental shelf and EEZs with Cyprus and Egypt, would this not have further strengthened the Republic of Cyprus?
N. KOTZIAS: We are in negotiations with Egypt on the continental shelf and EEZ. You describe the continental shelf yourself, but legally you definitively don't delimit it on your own. This will be the subject of future consultations with Turkey.
JOURNALIST: Is it the same case with the EEZ?
N. KOTZIAS: This has to do with delimitations and declarations. It's a different story from that of the continental shelf in the Aegean.
May 22, 2017