Athens , 4 June 2010

Mr. Delavekouras: Good morning. I would like to start with the issue of the humanitarian aid mission to Gaza and the repatriation of our fellow citizens.

As you know, early yesterday morning the Alternate Foreign Minister and representatives of the political parties, together with relatives of the returnees, met the Greek citizens that were repatriated from Israel on a special Air Force flight.

As we have said from the very moment the incidents became known to us, it is a position of principle for us that NGO activities should not be hindered as long as they are within the law.

The military operation carried out in international waters by the Israeli navy was condemned categorically by our country, not only in word, but also in deed, with the discontinuation of a Greek-Israeli military exercise that was underway and the postponement of a visit from the head of the Israeli Air Force General Staff.

Together with our partners, we asked that an investigation be carried out so that we could obtain a full picture of what happened.

I want to repeat that all of the Foreign Ministry’s actions throughout the crisis were aimed at protecting the safety of our fellow citizens and, later on, ensuring their speedy return home.

For this reason, constant and multiple demarches were made oin the level of the Alternate Foreign Minister, the Foreign Ministry’s Secretary General and our Ambassador to Israel.

I also want to remind you of the contacts the Prime Minister had with the President of the Palestinian Authority, the Secretary General of the Arab League, the President of the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Prime Minister and the Israeli Foreign Minister.

Early next week, the Alternate Foreign Minister will have a meeting with the Arab Ambassadors accredited to Athens, as well as with the Israeli Ambassador. And in the contact the Prime Minister had with President Christofias, they agreed to work together to explore ways to increase the flow of humanitarian aid. For that reason, a joint initiative is to be undertaken – so we can get results.

Now, on to the programme. At 12:00 today, Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas will participate in the debate on the EU—Bosnia-Herzegovina Stabilization and Association Agreement.

On Wednesday, Mr. Droutsas will accompany the Prime Minister on his visit to Libya.

Regarding the Deputy Foreign Minister’s programme, Mr. Kouvelis met early today with the Executive Director of the American Hellenic Institute, and on Sunday, 6 June, he will travel to Russia to participate in the proceedings of the 7^th Greek-Russian Joint Interministerial Committee, which will focus on the subject of economic, industrial and technological cooperation. Within the framework of his visit, he will also meet with leaders of the ethnic Greek community.

He will give a welcome speech, along with the Russian Transport Minister, at the 3^rd Greek-Russian Business Conference. That Conference is entitled, “From international financial crisis to development – new prospects in Greek-Russian cooperation”.

On Tuesday, 8 June, Mr. Kouvelis will be in Sochi, the venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics. He will visit the Olympic facilities and will participate in a roundtable discussion exploring potential for Greek-Russian cooperation during the preparations for the games.

In Sochi, Mr. Kouvelis will also meet with Russian Deputy Premier Kozak.

Finally, on returning to Moscow, Mr. Kouvelis will attend an event for the presentation of Greek wines.

I’ll go onto and Internet-related issue. If you remember, Mr. Droutsas was in Agathonisi for the Epiphany celebrations this year. We said at the time that the Foreign Ministry would undertake the construction of a website for Agathonisi, which did not have a webpage or any presence on the Internet.

For a month and a half now, Agathonisi’s pilot webpage has been operating at www.agathonisi.gr. I was constructed by the Foreign Ministry’s web development department and presents the island’s culture, archaeological findings and tourism infrastructure. It has a lot of photographic material and is an attempt to further promote tourism and attract visitors to Agathonisi.

Moreover, as the World Cup is approaching, let me remind you that on the Foreign Ministry’s website, www.mfa.gr – at the webpage of our Embassy in South Africa, www.mfa.gr/pretoria – as well as on our Facebook pages, http://www.facebook.com/mfa.gr, and at Twitter, http://twitter.com/greeceMFA, there is information for anyone intending to visit South Africa and attend our national team’s World Cup matches.

Two other issues: Regarding our assumption of the Chairmanship of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), our country assumed the Chairmanship on 1 June and will hold it through to the end of the year.

The Greek Chairmanship is focussing on green development. Our goal is to adopt and promote specific projects, along with promoting the projects already underway, in the areas of land and sea transport. We are also looking at regional actions for energy saving, the promotion of alternative energy sources and entrepreneurship.

The Greek BSEC Chairmanship’s political agenda includes the strengthening of BSEC-EU cooperation ties, which we have also worked on actively in the past – in particular the promotion of the EU’s Black Sea Synergy initiative.

Towards the end of the month – some time in the last ten days of June – the Foreign Ministry will hold an event to present the Greek Chairmanship’s priorities, and there will also be the celebration that takes place every year in Istanbul, at the BSEC’s headquarters.

Finally, our country currently holds the Chairmanship of the Contact Group on Piracy of the Coast of Somalia, and on 10 June we will hold the culminating event of our Chairmanship with a Meeting of the Contact Group in New York. This meeting will carry out a review of the Greek Chairmanships actions, which so far have come in for very positive comments.

That’s all I wanted to say. Your questions, please.

Mr. Loukas: Mr. Spokesman, vital information has come out in the past 24 hours concerning the crisis in Gaza, a crisis I would say. The information concerns the Obama administration’s admission that it was in contact with the Israeli’s before the bloody commando operation was carried out. In fact, the Americans warned the Israeli’s to be careful.

I will read out the statement from State Department spokesman: “We had multiple contacts with the Israeli Government in the weeks leading up to the flotilla. Understanding that civilians would be on those ships, including American citizens, we urged caution and restraint.”

So I want to ask you straight out. Was the Greek side in contact with the Israelis before the bloody incident? Did you have any information? Did you know that the Israeli’s were to carry out an operation against an international flotilla carrying Greek citizens?

Mr. Delavekouras: We have been monitoring the preparations for this mission for some months now. We were in contact from the very outset with the organizers, first of all in Greece, and this contact continued throughout this time.

We were also in ongoing contact with the Israeli side, and we stressed the need to provide for the safety of the Greek citizens who would be participating in this mission.

Israeli had announced its intention to block the completion of the mission. We knew that, and that’s why we noted to the organizers the dangers involved in their endeavor.

In any case, however, the military mission that was carried out by Israel in international waters is condemnable and that is why we demanded the immediate repatriation of Greek citizens. This was achieved, and they all returned well and safely.

Mr. Loukas: Shortly before the operation, were you in coordination, were you informed?

Mr. Delavekouras: On operation coordination, we were never in contact with Israel. We were in political contact, diplomatic contact, constantly in order to pressure them to protect the safety of Greek citizens. At the same time, we were in contact with the organizers to inform them of the dangers involved in what they were doing.

Mr. Panteloglou: You mentioned the discontinuation of the Greek-Israeli exercise. Has a decision been taken to discontinue the second part of the exercise, which is to begin now, at the end of June, and concerns the exact same forces that carried out the Israeli forces’ operation?

Mr. Delavekouras: This exercise has already been ended, as we have already announced. We want – and this is important – to keep the channels of communication open in order to safeguard the peace process. We are at a very critical stage in the peace process right now. Proximity talks have started.

The dramatic events that took place with regard to the humanitarian mission to Gaza will certain burden this process. There is no doubt about that. But we shouldn’t call it off. We should emphasize what is at stake here: the Middle East peace process.

We have to find ways for this dialogue to continue so that the Middle East issue can be resolved in all of its dimensions. Obviously, violence will not solve things, and neither will investing in the promotion of violence.

That is where all of us have to focus all our power. And that is why Greece wants more active involvement on the part of the European Union. That is why we want the issue to be discussed at the next General Affairs Council. That is why we are taking the initiative with Cyprus in order to open channels for humanitarian aid. We have to find ways for the peace process to move ahead. That is the only way we will be able to have peace in the Middle East region.

Mr. Panteloglou: Regarding the increased flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. In what manner – in the manner foreseen by Israel and proposed as a different manner – that is, from Ashdod on, by road or direct?

Mr. Delavekouras: This manner already exists. The issue is how we will be able to do it. At this time, there is no one who is not asking for the immediate lifting of the blockade on Gaza. The people living in Gaza need us.

Greece has proven in practice, sending aid, offering humanitarian aid – even in the difficult state of affairs we are going through – uninterruptedly so that we can help our fellow human beings who are there.

We are just a few days past the tragic event we have described. We have to see how we can increase the flow of humanitarian aid. It is imperative. We have to find ways to lift the blockade on Gaza.

But I say again, the most important thing about this whole situation is that we find ways to support and move ahead with the peace process. To reach a solution on every aspect of the Middle East problem.

Ms. Fryssa: You said there will be a joint Greek-Cypriot initiative on humanitarian aid. Are there any actions you have considered carrying out in the near future?

Mr. Delavekouras: This arose following a conversation between the Greek Prime Minister and the President of the Republic of Cyprus. Alternate Foreign Minister Droutsas also spoke with the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus. We are coordinating it so that we can formulate the next steps, which are in progress. In the coming days, we will give you the relevant information. Some trips and meetings are already being scheduled.

Mr. Hadoulis: Earlier in the week, Mr. Zepos had information that Greek activists had been mistreated. And Mr. Droutsas spoke to them yesterday. I want to ask you whether we have any further information, since he spoke to these people in person […].

And the second question I want to ask is that you said earlier that all legal NGO actions must be allowed. As opinions differ on this, does the information we have indicate that this mission really was completely within the law?

Mr. Delavekouras: Regarding you first question, first of all I want to remind you of the actions taken by our Embassy in Israel. Essentially, we had a unit in Ashdod. The Greek Ambassador spent the whole of the first day at the prisons in order to apply pressure so that he could see – and he did see – most of the Greeks. Our Embassy managed to be with the Greek citizens before their departure from the airport. They put them in contact with a lawyer.

There are Greeks who are alleging mistreatment. On the instructions of the Alternate Foreign Minister, the crisis management team will communicate with all of the Greeks who participated in the mission in order to record these allegations and lost items, and this data will be used during our meetings with the Israeli side.

Regarding the second issue you raised, I will say again that we – as the EU – have asked for a full investigation into the events. We want an independent investigation that will bring everything into the light. And this is in the interest of Israel itself, so that it can clarify exactly what happened and who is responsible. And if blame is assigned, there should be justice.

Ms. Poulidou: (off microphone) What does “independent” mean?

Mr. Delavekouras: An investigation that will give us reliable findings.

Journalist: (off microphone)

Mr. Delavekouras: Right now, we are still at the stage of managing the crisis. But what we want is for everything to be brought into the light, and for this happen, we need an independent investigation that will give us real findings that we will be able to trust and make decisions with. As we said, I think this is also in Israel’s interest.

Ms. Nikolaou: Have you asked that there be a team of countries that will undertake to coordinate the investigation? Do you have your own initiative for setting up this committee that will investigate these events?

Mr. Delavekouras: No. At this time we have asked for an investigation as the EU. But the need for an investigation has been heard from many sides. I think that this is now a given even in Israel. Now, the issue is for the investigation to be carried out and for us to see the findings; the results. Everything has to come out.

Ms. Vidali: The carrying out of an investigation is a Security Council decision. Irrespective of the investigation, is this a separate initiative from the EU, or is it cooperating within the framework of the UN?

Mr. Delavekouras: Essentially, we are talking about the same thing. The EU asked for an investigation to be carried out in an announcement it issued on Monday morning. Then there was Security Council Presidential statement. The international community wants a substantial in-depth investigation into this incident. It’s necessary.

Mr. Stavroulakis: I would like to take up my colleague’s question, taking it in another direction. You said that such a civil society action must be lawful and free. Let’s say it was lawful. Was it free though? Because we essentially saw that it was under the wing of the Erdogan government. What is your take on this?

Mr. Delavekouras: What I want to point out is that the Greek nationals who took part in this mission and the Greek-flagged vessel were in international waters when this military operation was carried out. And I repeat once again that there must be an investigation in order to find out the exact circumstances.

Beyond that, we are talking about Greek nationals and a Greek vessel. Each NGO’s motives or contacts or funding are a different story. What I am saying to you is that, as far as Greek nationals and the Greek-flagged ship are concerned, they were in international waters and they were carrying humanitarian aid.

Mr. Stavroulakis: On this specific issue, I wanted to say that a civil society action was turned into a government action.

Mr. Delavekouras: I have no comment, as I said, on the way NGOs operate in Turkey; that is a different matter. I am talking about the Greek nationals. Greek nationals were in international waters and they were carrying humanitarian aid.

Ms. Maltezou: (off microphone) Were both vessels Greek-flagged?

Mr. Delavekouras: There was a Greek-flagged ship, and the other vessel, called "Sfendoni" I think, was under a foreign flag.

Ms. Maltezou: Do we know why certain activists returned immediately, whereas some others didn’t?

Mr. Delavekouras: No, I have no confirmed information to give you on that. The first six arrived. Things were different when they left Israel, based on the contacts we had with the Israeli side. That is, Israel’s intentions were different regarding the way in which they handled those who took part in the mission.

Then, a political decision was made by the government of Israel to accelerate the procedure and free all the participants. We already had an aircraft ready to fly. We sent the aircraft to Israel and made it wait there in order to speed up their liberation and repatriation even further, which is what we succeeded in doing in the end.

Mr. Vlavianos: Mr. Spokesman, I have a question on the Law of the Sea and whether it is being used as each party sees fit. And the reason is because Turkey seems to be protesting loudly about the Law of the Sea, about what happened in international waters outside Gaza, but at the same time it has refused to sign the Convention on the Law of the Sea and it does not recognize it as far as the Aegean is concerned; what does Greek diplomacy intend to do about that?

Mr. Delavekouras: My answer is as follows: What I want to stress is the phrase used by the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr. Davutoglu, in his speech before the UN Security Council; i.e., that Israel's actions were in violation of the International Law of the Sea, including customary international law.

We want to believe that this is a position of principle and that it essentially forms the basis for a change in Turkey’s stance with regard to this issue. That it is a first step in order for Turkey to join the other 160 countries around the world that have signed, ratified and have been implementing the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which is the only safe guide for the delimitation of maritime zones between Greece and Turkey and forms the answer, the clear answer, to Ankara's occasional claims.

Mr. Papathanasiou: You said that you gave particular emphasis to the political aspect; i.e., safeguarding the talks on the Middle East issue, which have been launched as proximity talks.

At the same time, Greece is looking into taking a joint initiative with the government of the Republic of Cyprus. Does it intend to take action on the political level too?

Mr. Delavekouras: We have already elaborated certain thoughts about what could be the next steps within the framework of talks and contacts.

As I said, the Alternate Foreign Minister will have contacts next week with the Ambassadors of Arab countries, the Ambassador of Israel, certain contacts will be held, things have obviously changed in our scheduling too.

The positions that we have been formulating, that we are currently examining, will be discussed with our EU partners. We think that Europe must play a role, it needs to play a role. It is an objective collocutor, a collocutor that has a lot to offer on the Middle East issue, at the level of development and humanitarian aid, but which does not have the corresponding political presence.

We need to come up with new ideas. There is the process of direct contacts, but we must also take an extra step. This is why we want to put forward certain ideas to our partners in order for a common position to be elaborated; a position that will essentially go beyond the current situation and help us look for new ways to make progress.

Mr. Papathanasiou: But all this on a European level, not on a bilateral level.

Mr. Delavekouras: Bilateral with whom?

Mr. Papathanasiou: I mean to say that what Greece wants is to promote certain things at the level of the European Union; that is, for the European Union to take the next step.

Mr. Delavekouras: We think that a coordinated, clear presence, a clear political say on the part of the European Union will be much more important. We are not of course the only ones there. We will need the help of all our global partners. We will need the help of the Quartet, the United Nations, Russia, the United States, we will need to invest in the search for a solution and the definitive resolution of the Middle East issue as a whole.

Ms. Poulidou: A clarification please. From what we’ve read in the press, the first six signed a paper written in Hebrew given to them by the Israeli authorities, in which they expressed their regret at violating Israel’s maritime space. Were the others also asked to sign this paper?

Mr. Delavekouras: The picture I have is that the first six haven’t all signed a document, so I can’t safely tell you who has signed a document and whether they have signed anything. The information they themselves gave to our Embassy was that some of them signed and some others didn’t.

Mr. Panteloglou: Are those who returned facing legal problems with Israel now, or is the matter considered closed at this point?

Mr. Delavekouras: First of all, we are talking about an investigation that will be made into the real incidents, in order for us to see exactly what happened out there.

Secondly, I guess that they themselves will look at what their legal options are. The Embassy has secured the presence of an attorney and our Embassy managed to be with the group of Greek nationals at the airport. So they came in contact with a lawyer there – I imagine in order to see what their options are from now on.

As I told you, on the part of the Foreign Ministry, the Crisis Management team will contact them in order to register what they have to tell us and we’ll see what follows after that.

Mr. Vlavianos: You already said a lot about what Europe must do and how it must do it; up to now, as far as the occupied territories are concerned, Europe has been speaking with the Palestinian Authority. Does it intend to change this policy, to talk with those down at…

Mr. Delavekouras: There is no such issue at the moment.

Mr. Loukas: First of all, I would like to ask whether you think that the Greek reaction towards Israel was appropriate given that Greek nationals were arrested in international waters, that they were held hostage, and here I want to mention as a scale for comparison the example of South Africa, Ecuador and Nicaragua: countries that have suspended their diplomatic relations with Israel.

And a second question, if you allow me, on the issue of Iran’s nuclear weapons. The Iranian “Press TV” has reported that Greece and Sweden back the Teheran Declaration; i.e., the uranium exchange agreement between Teheran and Ankara. In fact, we’ve read that there was a telephone communication on Wednesday night between Mr. Papandreou and Iranian Foreign Minister M. Mottaki. I wanted to ask – given the West’s objections to this agreement, the U.S. in particular – whether Greece’s position is now different than the rest of the West on the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme and why.

Thank you. 

Mr. Delavekouras: With regard to your first question, as I said earlier, at the moment, our goal is to keep communication channels open. At the moment, our objective is to be able to protect the peace process. This is where the solution and peace will come from.

The Greek government has unequivocally condemned Israel’s actions and made certain moves. What we are interested in is the way forward, how we will reach a solution, not how to break off communication.

With regard to the second matter that you raised, we have been monitoring all the developments of course. What we are primarily interested in is for Iran to have full and good cooperation on its nuclear programme with the IAEA. The importance of the agreement you mentioned is being evaluated at the moment.

At the same time, as part of the broader discussion under way on Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA, the views formulated by the “E3+3” countries that have been in talks with Iran all these years is of course very important.

Ms. Poulidou: I would like to move on to another matter. Two days ago, Mr. Droutsas met with Lady Ashton in Sarajevo. Did they discuss the name issue at all?

Mr. Delavekouras: No.

Journalist: Not at all?

Mr. Delavekouras: Not at all.

Ms. Ristovska: And how was the meeting with Mr. Milososki? What was your impression and could you tell us if you expect the matter to be resolved by the Summit on 17 June, that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will be given a date for the start of accession negotiations with the EU? I mean, there's little time left until then so…

Mr. Delavekouras: In the brief discussion between Alternate Foreign Minister Droutsas and Mr. Milososki on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans Summit, we repeated the need for the leadership of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to come to the negotiations with a constructive stance.

As far as the Greek side is concerned, we really want a solution. We have taken very specific steps in this direction to improve the climate prevailing in the relations between the two countries.

But I cannot hide the fact that we are worried about what we have been hearing from Skopje. For instance, the recent speech of Prime Minister Gruevski. I think that such rhetoric is the best proof of why it is imperative to find a solution on the name issue. The name issue is becoming a vehicle of nationalism. This must change and it will change only if a definitive solution is found that is mutually acceptable to both sides.

This is what we want, but despite our efforts we see no response and this obviously gives us no reason to be optimistic. We will continue our efforts, we are determined to reach a solution and we will work towards that.

The impression we have been getting from civil society in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and also from our contacts is that the two peoples can become friends. Skopje need not and must not systematically present Greece as the enemy.

We will never reach a solution in this way. We are convinced that the two countries can be good neighbours, but we will not achieve this if the government of Skopje systematically presents Greece in a negative way. This must change. There has to be a different climate in relations between the two countries and this is precisely what we are working towards.

The Greek Prime Minister had one-to-one meetings with his counterpart from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. There were joint initiatives, organized by Greece, in favour of cooperation, such as the meeting in Prespes.

Greece supports FYROM’s accession to Euroatlantic institutions, but this must be done on a clear basis; i.e., a mutually acceptable name.  

Ms. Ristovska: Let us say that no solution is found until the date of the Summit. Will Greece exercise its veto?

Mr. Delavekouras: There are unanimous EU decisions that clearly state that the name issue must be resolved before the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia can start its accession negotiations. And I repeat that it is our will to find a solution tomorrow if possible. And we are ready.

This issue has been under discussion for the past 17 years. We are not waiting for divine inspiration – we simply need political will; clear political will. And Greece has it.

We hope that the Skopje government will also take these important political decisions and the steps needed. But it must be made clear that we cannot talk about a Euroatlantic perspective for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia without a prior resolution of the name issue.

Thank you very much.