Athens, 2 September 2010

Main points:

(on the recent attacks against Israelis and the peace process):

·          The murder of four Israeli citizens, yesterday’s attack, just as any other manifestation of violence, whatever its source, is turned against every courageous effort to achieve this two-state objective. But it is turned mostly against the Palestinian people’s vision for a homeland of their own, and this is why our condemnation is double.

·          The direct talks starting today in Washington between Israel and the Palestinian Authority constitute a great opportunity. Greece welcomes them and calls upon the region’s people and their governments not to succumb to the logic of violence and move ahead with an honest, fair, and viable solution for the region’s problems.

(on the casus belli):

·          The ability to extend our territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles is Greece’s right, which is provided for in the Law of the Sea and which is also part of the European acquis.

·          A war threat by a candidate country for accession to the European Union against a member of the European Union is inconceivable today, given the current context in which international relations develop and also given that something like this is strictly prohibited by the United Nations Charter.

·          Greece continues to support Turkey’s European perspective in a consistent manner, because we believe it is in our own country’s long-term interest. But all this cannot happen if the explicit preconditions set by Greece and the European Union are not fulfilled.

·          We are making an effort to improve our relations, we will continue this effort in order to reach the desired outcome. Always with very careful steps and always making sure that Greece's sovereign rights are safeguarded in any case.

(on FYROM and the eventuality of meetings being held during the UN General Assembly)

·          I think that it is very probable that such a meeting will be held, and we would like to arrange it – if Mr. Nimetz has time. As you also already know so well, Greece’s policy vis-ΰ-vis FYROM is an open policy, we seek the improvement of ouir bilateral relations, we seek despite hearing from time to time completely contradictory statements on behalf of the FYROM leadership or statements that completely oppose this purpose.

(on the recent statements of the U.S. Ambassador in Skopje)

·          I told you already that in this negotiation Greece and FYROM have been negotiating in a clearly defined framework set by UN Security Council Resolutions and taking place within the framework of the United Nations.

·          I must tell you that we have asked the U.S. side to explain to us what the logic of Mr. Ricker's statements was, but beyond that, we continue to invest in this ongoing process within the framework of the United Nations and I think that everyone has understood how determined Greece is in its effort to reach a solution.

·          And really, I will keep repeating it tirelessly, we hope to see a response from the FYROΜ leadership at some point. It has to be clear that at the moment the country is at a crossroads. It has the opportunity to make a leap forward. It has an opportunity to achieve a European, a Euro-Atlantic future. To become a member of NATO, to start negotiations with the European Union, to make quick steps towards European integration.

(on Kosovo and the draft decision of the UN General Assembly)

·          Greece has been following a consistent policy on our region’s European integration and we have given the framework to this prospect through the initiative “Agenda 2014”. We have managed to breathe new life to the discussion within the framework of the European Union regarding the European future of the Western Balkans.

·          We hope that the ICJ opinion and this resolution that will be discussed at the UN General Assembly will be the springboard, will become the first step to start a political process that will allow us to bring the entire region closer to Europe.

·          These processes are under way. I do not want to prejudge the outcome, but this is Greece’s position with regard to the UN General Assembly resolution. We want a product of consensus, something no which the European Union – its 27 member states – and Serbia will substantially agree on. It will inevitably be the result of a compromise.

Full transcript of the briefing (translation):

Mr. Delavekouras: Good morning.

Good morning. I’ll start with the Ministers' programmes.  Alternate Foreign Minister Mr. Droutsas will represent the government at the Sunday play at Herodes Atticus Theatre by the Cyprus Theatre Organisation, which will also be attended by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Christofias, who will be on a visit to Athens on Sunday and Monday.

On Monday, 6 September, at 12:00, Mr. Droutsas will receive at the Foreign Ministry, the new Ambassador of Italy and at 12:30, the outgoing Ambassador of the Czech Republic. On Thursday, 9 September, at 12:00, Mr. Droutsas will meet with the new Director-General of UNESCO, Ms. Irina Bokova, at the Foreign Ministry. This is Ms. Bokova’s first visit to our country. Statements will be made to the news media at 13:00, followed by a working luncheon.

Ms. Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, will take part in the “UNESCO Future Forum – Gender Equality: The Missing Link?” to be held from 9 until 11 September.

On Thursday, at 5 o’clock, Mr. Droutsas will meet with the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, who will be the keynote speaker at the UNESCO Forum and who will be visiting our country from 8 to 10 September.

On Friday and Saturday 10 & 11 September, Mr. Droutsas will take part in the Gymnich meeting to be held in Brussels. The main topics of discussion at the Gymnich will include preparations for this month’s special meeting of the European Council focusing on cooperation between the European Union and its strategic partners, with an emphasis on India and China. The EU’s role in the international system will also be discussed.

With regard to the programme of Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr. Spyros Kouvelis, tomorrow, he will meet with the President of the Exporters' Association of Northern Greece (SEVE), Mr. Lakasas. Topics of discussion at their meeting are expected to include development and investment issues, as regards the activity of businesspeople from northern Greece in the broader region of Southeast Europe and the prospect for foreign investments in northern Greece.

On Tuesday, 7 September, at 13:00, Mr. Kouvelis will meet with the President of the World Hellenic Interparliamentary Association, Mr. Pantazopoulos, who is also a member of the Australian Parliament.

Turning now to a different matter.

We fully support the statement of EU High Commissioner Lady Ashton regarding the murder of four Israeli citizens near the city of Hebron and we extend our condolences to the families of the victims. We also condemn yesterday’s attack, as a result of which two people were injured.

For many years, Greece has been supporting the creation of an independent and viable Palestinian state, living peacefully side by side with Israel, in conditions of safety for these countries and their peoples.

The murder of four Israeli citizens, yesterday’s attack, just as any other manifestation of violence, whatever its source, is turned against every courageous effort to achieve this two-state objective. But it is also turning against the Palestinian people’s vision for their own homeland, and this is why our condemnation is double.

The direct talks starting today in Washington between Israel and the Palestinian Authority constitute a great opportunity. Greece welcomes them and calls upon the region’s people and their governments not to succumb to the logic of violence and move ahead with an honest, fair, and viable solution for the region’s problems.

I would also like to make a reference to an article which appeared in last Sunday’s “Proto Thema” daily, entitled: “Millions spent on overtime at ministerial offices” where there is also reference to Decision ΣΤ4/Φ.084/ΑΣ 1823, published in Government Gazette A 262/15.3.2010.

The Foreign Ministry has already issued an announcement on this issues on 22 March 2010, which is the following:

 This particular Ministerial Decision regards the approval of reimbursement of Foreign Ministry employees who work overtime in 2010 and not simply those posted in the diplomatic or political offices of the Ministry’s political leadership.

It refers to the total employees positions, provided for in the applicable legal status for formality reasons, some of which are however vacant, precisely because efforts are being made to cut back on the Ministry's operational cost. Furthermore, for the same reason, the number of overtime hours worked in 2010 has been halved, according to calculations, compared with 2009.

Therefore, the total amount mentioned in this Decision is the total provision included in the 2010 budget for the reimbursement of potential overtime at the Ministry, rather than overtime payments to be made in reality until the end of 2010. The difference resulting from the existing vacancies and the cuts through the way in which overtime per employee is calculated will obviously be credited to the budget and will not be absorbed by the Foreign Ministry.”

At the moment, it should be noted that the exact facts are as follows:

At the Foreign Minister’s political office 4 out of 47 posts provided for in total have been filled.

At the Alternate Foreign Minister’s political office none of the 33 posts provided for in total have been filled.

At the Deputy Foreign Minister’s political office 4 out of 11 posts provided for in total have been filled.

At the diplomatic office of the Foreign Minister 18 employees work overtime out of the 45 posts provided for in total in terms of Foreign Ministry permanent employees.

At the diplomatic office of the Alternate Foreign Minister 10 employees work overtime out of the 15 posts provided for in total in terms of Foreign Ministry permanent employees.

At the diplomatic office of the Deputy Foreign Minister 10 employees work overtime out of the 14 posts provided for in total in terms of Foreign Ministry permanent employees.

Let me stress here that the Foreign Ministry is making a major effort to curb expenditure, to rationalise procedures so as to bring order to the Foreign Ministry’s modus operandi and save money.

It is a given fact that the major effort undertaken on cutting expenses and rationalizing the Ministry’s modus operandi will be clear by the end of the year, when we will have precise data on the sums spent.

There is no other issue on my side, so I am ready to answer any questions. Thank you.

Mr. Hidiroglou: About a month ago, you freezed the deposits of an Iranian bank operating here in Athens. Irrespective of whether this decision was wrong or right, why haven’t you briefed us on that?

Mr. Delavekouras: I am not aware of the issue you are referring to. It is very probable that you are referring to the Security Council resolutions, which must be implemented by the entire international community. These are UN Security Council resolutions and their implementation is mandatory.

Mr. Hidiroglou: This is not what I asked you. I asked you why you didn't brief us.

Mr. Delavekouras: This is an automatic process, i.e. these resolutions must be implemented by all the member states of the international community, there is not question about it. UN Security Council resolutions will be implemented by Athens in their entirety.

Mr. Meletis: Could you tell us whether any conclusions have been drawn following Mr. Droutsas’ meeting with Mr. Davutoglu, and whether we have any news on when he will be coming to Athens or whether any dates have been set for these meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Mr. Delavekouras: Indeed, there was a meeting between the two Ministers on the sidelines of the Greece-Turkey basketball game that they watched together, followed by dinner hosted at the Turkish Foreign Minister’s residence, which lasted about an hour.

At the meeting, there was essentially a review of all the issues of concern to the two countries lately and they also discussed the framework in the coming period.

Political leadership meetings are planned on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly after 20 September in New York. No dates have been finalized yet, but they will be included in the programme in future.

The same goes for Mr. Davutoglu’s reciprocal visit, within the framework of the existing understanding of holding meetings/visits by Foreign Ministers twice a year. So we expect Mr. Davutoglu to visit Athens, but we haven’t finalized a date yet - it will be sometime in late October, early November. We will arrange that in future.

Beyond that, there was a discussion on several issues. First of all, the two Ministers discussed progress, the current state of play of talks within the framework of the High-level Cooperation Council; this is something that will be of concern during Mr. Davutoglu’s visit to Athens. Lately, there have been meetings at the level of technocrats, to look at the results of the visit and perhaps look into prospects for further cooperation.

There was a discussion on the course of exploratory contacts and it was agreed that the two sides wish to work together with the same intensive pace. They discussed regional issues. They of course discussed issues that have been of concern during the summer, and issues that disturbed us. They discussed the issue of the Middle East, issues regarding the Balkans, and the Cyprus issue.

They also discussed the issue of carrying out daily excursions to Greek islands departing from the Turkish coast. This issue was discussed in the past following calls by local government officials on our islands. It is an issue of interest to us and it does not only have to do with Turkey, we are essentially talking about giving the ability to citizens of other countries – not just Turkish citizens – to go on organized daily excursions to the Greek islands without any visa obligations.

This is something very important, this is something that we want to see moving forward. We have already had consultations with the European Union and we hope to be able to implement a pilot programme in the near future, but I am not in a position to announce anything as yet.

Mr. Fourlis: I suppose you did not discuss Mr. Davutoglu’s views on the casus belli. And on this occasion, I would like to ask whether there is a chance the Greek government might examine the eventuality of giving up its right to extend its territorial waters

Mr. Delavekouras: There is no such question. First of all, it is a sovereign right of the Greek state. There is no such question; the ability to extend our territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles is Greece’s right, which is provided for in the Law of the Sea and which is also part of the European acquis.

Beyond that, we are not going to say what we intend to do as yet. Alternate Foreign Minister Mr. Droutsas made a clear statement on this in one of the interviews he gave, saying that we should not even be discussing this, this question should not even be raised, because today a war threat by a candidate country for accession to the European Union against a member of the European Union is inconceivable today, given the current context in which international relations develop and also given that something like this is strictly prohibited by the United Nations Charter.

There is no such issue, there should not be such an issue, and it is up to Turkey to do away with it.

Mr. Meletis: I wanted to ask a question on the casus belli. Mr. Davutoglu said something very simple. That there is a casus belli and there will still be a casus belli, if Greece does not give up on its sovereign right willingly. I would like to ask what moves has the Greek government made in order to denounce this aggressive and unacceptable under international law and as part of international relations stance on the part of Turkey and whether the message of denouncement that should have been sent came out of the two Foreign Ministers watching the basketball game together and applauding at the end.

I mean was there any denouncement or was Greece’s symbolic reaction the two Ministers watching the basketball game together?

Mr. Delavekouras: Let me tell you that this has been successively, systematically denounced by all of the Greek state’s representatives on any given opportunity. The same happened lately with the Alternate Foreign Minister’s statements as I mentioned.

Mr. Meletis: I don’t mean whether in an interview Mr. Droutsas said that if reports are proven right then this will be a positive event, I am asking whether – following the statements made at NATO the day before yesterday – you specifically denounced to the European Union and to the United Nations that there is a clear, confirmed war threat by the Foreign Ministry of a neighbouring country. Not whether Mr. Droutsas or Mr. Delavekouras said anything in an interview.

Mr. Delavekouras: Right. Beyond that, I am telling you that we seek and we have achieved its inclusion in all relevant documents of international organisations of which Greece is a member, we are briefing our partners, we are informing international organisations of which we are members precisely that nowadays, it is inconceivable to have a war threat as it is explicitly prohibited by the Charter of the United Nations.

I think we cannot say this more clearly.

Beyond that, the issue is that we want – both sides have stated it clearly – we want to move ahead with deepening and improving our bilateral relations. Greece continues to support Turkey’s European perspective in a consistent manner, because we believe it is in our own country’s long-term interest.

But all this cannot happen if the explicit preconditions set by Greece and the European Union are not fulfilled. We cannot have a normalisation of Greek-Turkish relations without doing away with these provocations, these violations of international law, nor can Turkey accede to the European Union without fulfiling all the criteria set - including the explicit criterion of good neighbourly relations - which Turkey will have to comply with if it wants to become a full member of the European Union.

We are making an effort to improve our relations and we will continue this effort in order to reach the desired outcome. Always with very careful steps and always making sure that Greece's sovereign rights are safeguarded in any case.

Mr. Meletis: I am obviously not making myself clear here and it is my mistake. You are saying that there is an effort. Here we see that after a very long time, a high-level Turkish official, not a representative of the Foreign Ministry or a journalist reconfirms and brings up again the casus belli in an explicit and unequivocal manner.

And you are now saying that there is a will to improve relations. Where do you see such a will? Because Turkey is saying that there is a casus belli, .Mr. Davutoglu is saying it at the moment.

Why didn’t we use this fact in order for the European Union and NATO and the whole world to know that things are not as noted down, i.e. a constant improvement in Greek-Turkish relations?

There is problem which the incumbent Turkish government confirms.  Because if today at the level of public statements and at the level of communication this thing is not noted down, then handling this issue tomorrow will be more difficult for the Greek government. This is what I know. I saw no reference anywhere to the fact that Mr. Davutoglu has brought up the casus belli again.

Mr. Delavekouras: First of all, thank you for your questions because through them you are precisely helping us to note down what you have been saying too. So it is noted down that Turkey continues to maintain a war threat against Greece, which is unacceptable in current international relations. This is what we have been saying and we want this to be noted down in every international organisation we take part in, in order for Turkey to come and explain how it is possible in 2010, to threaten a neighbouring country with war because it could exercise its self-evident rights, provided for in the Law of the Sea. This is what Turkey will have to explain and have no doubt that we will make sure it is noted down everywhere.

Ms. Fryssa: First of all, following up on my colleague’s comment, I would like to say that Ms. Ashton, as the Foreign Minister of the European Union, should have brought up this matter now.

And my question is the following: How many Greeks will take part in the new External Action Service of the European Union, which is headed by Ms. Ashton? How many Greeks – not institutional bodies from Greece – will take part in it? Thank you.

Mr. Delavekouras: The process of implementation of the EU’s External Action Service has not been completed yet. We hope that it will be completed by the end of the year. With regard to the process, the specific number of officials for each participating state has not been determined yet, but we believe that the geographical factor must be taken into account during the Service’s staffing process.

There will of course be – and there are already – Greek candidacies for positions in the External Action Service, and this will be a constantly renewable process. So we will constantly have officials returning to the national Foreign Ministries or leaving  them in order to join the EU External Action Service.

But I cannot as yet give you any numbers, because the staffing has not been completed yet. I hope that by the end of the year the process will be completed and we are very interested in staffing the EAS also with diplomats from the Greek Foreign Ministry.

Ms. Boudouri: Have any meetings been scheduled on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly with representatives of the Turkish government? Are similar meetings with representatives of the FYROM government being scheduled? And is there a scheduled meeting between Mr. Droutsas and Mr. Nimetz?

Mr. Delavekouras: I think that it is very probable that such a meeting will be held, and we would like to arrange it – if Mr. Nimetz has time. As you also already know so well, Greece’s policy vis-ΰ-vis FYROM is an open policy, we seek the improvement of our bilateral relations, despite hearing from time to time completely contradictory statements on behalf of the FYROM leadership or statements that completely oppose this purpose.

I think that it is probable, if the Prime Minister and Mr. Gruevski are in New York at the same time and if their schedules allow it, that they could meet. It must be clear that Greece will systematically continue this effort to improve bilateral relations. And it will continue to work in good faith to achieve a solution on the name issue.

An issue , let me remind you, which has not been resolved all these years due to the other side’s intransigence. Greece has made significant steps, everyone knows this and it has suggested a framework which is the right way to reach a solution and we must finally get a response from the other side too to reach this outcome.

Mr. Hidiroglou: I would like to come back to an issue that you yourself raised, the daily excursions departing from Turkey. Firstly: Mr. Spokesman, has the Greek government taken all the national security parameters into account, given that Greek military formations have been on these islands for many years, as you know?

Secondly: Has the Foreign Ministry taken into account that by allowing daily excursions without a visa obligation, it will essentially increase migratory flows to our country, given that in many cases third-country nationals who have the right to travel to Turkey without a visa will probably come to Greece?

Mr. Delavekouras:  If we indeed proceed with this, we are talking about a strictly defined framework that will provide all the necessary safety clauses in order to prevent illegal migrations, because it is Greece’s top priority to prevent the continuation of this modern form of slavery, both for humanitarian reasons and for reasons of public order. We should not confound two different things. We are talking about a strictly controlled process that will ensure there is no such probability. It is something that has been tried in the past producing good results, there have not been any problems and we believe we should try it again, there are legal arguments in favour, and we have the way to make it work.

What we are saying, is that first of all we must assess whether we can make it. That is, test during a trial period and evaluate the results.

But I tell you this is untimely right now, we are working on it also in association with the competent bodies of the European Union and we hope that we will be able to move forward because it is something very important for Greece and its tourism.

Ms. Ristovska: Over the past few weeks, there have been reports in the press about a secret diplomacy between Athens and Skopje? and that probably the two sides have agreed on the name “Republic of Vardar Macedonia” and that Greece wants to wait until after the regional and local elections in order to resolve this issue.

Any comment on that?

Mr. Delavekouras: I am also following the various scenarios that have been appearing in the press in FYROM, which very often couldn’t be further from the truth – there are sometimes reports in the Greek pres too. No one is talking about a secret diplomacy, but we are indeed talking about a confidential process that is under way within the framework of the United Nations, under the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Greece-FYROM talks, Mr. Nimetz.

This is the process, the two countries have their representatives and it is from there that we expect a solution to ensue, and this is why we expect to see activity at last on the part of FYROM, whose leadership is cowering behind the same arguments that we have been hearing for the past 20 years; these arguments have not changed.

We must take steps, Greece has every good intention and it has proven that we can achieve a solution, but we must finally see a response from the other side too. We would like to find a solution even tomorrow. But if indeed the FYROM leadership decides that it wants to move forward, then we can achieve a solution even tomorrow. But it must make this step at last. We are ready and we are willing to move forward.

Ms. Ristovska: One more question: on the U.S. Ambassador’s statement that he would support a dual name; do you have any comment and are there any pressures put on Greece in view of the NATO Summit?

Mr. Delavekouras: I told you already that in this negotiation Greece and FYROM have been negotiating in a clearly defined framework set by UN Security Council Resolutions and taking place within the framework of the United Nations. So I cannot know what the motives were and what the U.S. Ambassador’s thoughts were when he made these statements.

I believe that the statements and the publicity do not aid negotiations, particularly since they are outside the framework. I must tell you that we have asked the U.S. side to explain to us what the logic of Mr. Ricker's statements was, but beyond that, we continue to invest in this ongoing process within the framework of the United Nations and I think that everyone has understood how determined Greece is in its effort to reach a solution .

And really, I will keep repeating it tirelessly, we hope to see a response from the FYROΜ leadership at some point. It has to be clear that at the moment the country is at a crossroads. It has the opportunity to make a leap forward. It has an opportunity to achieve a European, a Euro-Atlantic future; to become a member of NATO, to start negotiations with the European Union, to make quick steps towards European integration.

But it has to be clear that with its leadership's current stance these steps should not be taken.

Mr. Hidiroglou: There are continuous contacts, meetings between the Greek and the Turkish political leadership and we are in the middle of the 46th round of exploratory contacts between Greece and Turkey. Have you made any concessions to Turkey on which you haven’t briefed us?

And I will tell you the reason for my question. A few days ago, we heard that no students have been accepted to the Special Pedagogic Academy of Thessaloniki, which essentially trains teachers to teach in minority schools, and it is feared that this paves the way for Turkish teachers to teach in Western Thrace’s minority schools.

Mr. Delavekouras: The answer to your first question is no. And the answer to your second question is that there is a relevant response on the part of the Education Ministry.

Mr. Meletis: What is Greece’s position on Serbia’s proposed resolution to the General Assembly regarding Kosovo?

Mr. Delavekouras: First of all, let me remind you that Greece was the first country to carry out a visit to Belgrade and Pristina, immediately following the issuance of the ICJ opinion.

Let me also remind you that Greece has been following a consistent policy on our region’s European integration and we have given the framework to this prospect through the “Agenda 2014” initiative. We have managed to breathe new life to the discussion within the framework of the European Union regarding the European future of the Western Balkans.

We want to see whether there is understanding, also thanks to the region’s European perspective, in order to find an agreed-upon solution, the product of consensus on the issue of Kosovo. We hope that the ICJ opinion and this resolution that will be discussed at the UN General Assembly will be the springboard, will become the first step in the launching of a political process that will allow us to bring the entire region closer to Europe.

At the moment, there are processes within the framework of both the European Union and also contacts with Serbia so that we can reach an understanding. Greece hopes that an agreement can be reached between the European Union and Serbia and that we can go to the UN General Assembly with a text that will be the result of consensus.

These processes are under way. I do not want to prejudge the outcome, but this is Greece’s position with regard to the UN General Assembly resolution. We want a product of consensus, something on which the European Union – its 27 member states – and Serbia will substantially agree on. It will inevitably be the result of a compromise.

Mr. Meletis: This is what we hope for.

Mr. Delavekouras: No, it is not at all a hope. Things are moving in this direction. This process is under way. Contacts are being held. A discussion has started which we hope will bear fruit - we have about a week ahead of us in order to achieve this result.

Let me remind you that about a month ago, everybody was talking about there being no dialogue at all. We are already in discussions. We believe in this and we work towards this, i.e., we hope to come up with a text that will be the product of consensus.

Thank you very much.