Athens , 11 March 2010

Mr. Savvidis: We will be talking with Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas, who is on our telephone line. I’d like to say good evening to the Minister, who is in Washington.

Mr. Droutsas: Good evening.

Mr. Savvidis: I would like to ask you – beyond everything that has come out regarding financial issues – whether you have anything to point out to us that was discussed in the meeting between Mr. Papandreou and Mr. Obama, and whether you have anything to add to what you have already stated to the news media in Greece regarding his European tour.

Mr. Droutsas: Mr. Savvidis, I think we have every reason to be very satisfied with the Prime Minister’s visit to Washington, as well as with the European tour that preceded it.

With regard to confronting the difficult financial situation in our country, it was a clear message of support for Greece. Everyone has acknowledged that Greece, the Greek government, the Greek People are making a very serious effort.

Greece has prepared in a systematic manner, it has presented very serious measures. And this has give back to Greece the credibility that I am very sorry to say it had lost recently. And this was the first major hurdle for us: to regain this credibility. And I think that the Greek people can feel proud – in spite of how difficult the situation is. The measures that have been taken are tough. The coming weeks and months will not be easy. But the main thing is that on the international stage, Greece’s credibility and standing are back at the level we deserve.

Mr. Savvidis: Mr. Minister, of course the matter of credibility will be apparent mainly when the country goes out to ask for loans from markets. And that is where we will see whether the interest rates on loans will fall.

That, of course, is on the level of markets, but it really seems – and this is a journalistic assessment – that on the level of political leadership in Europe and the U.S., there was some change as compared to the initial picture at the beginning of this crisis.

What I want to ask you, Mr. Minister, is whether – beyond the economic issue – Mr. Papandreou and Mr. Obama raised any issues concerning foreign policy in their meeting: the Skopje issue, the Cyprus issue, relations with Turkey.

Mr. Droutsas: Foreign policy issues were of course discussed in both meetings; that with Mr. Obama and the one with Secretary Clinton.

They discussed issues of immediate interest to Greece, including developments on the Cyprus issue, Greek-Turkish relations, Greece’s role in the Balkans, and issue of the name of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

We had the opportunity to explain, to present Greece’s clear positions on these issues. And also to point out that beyond these issues, Greece is once again regaining its voice and the role it deserves, particularly in our neighbourhood, the Middle East and the Balkans.

Mr. Savvidis: Is there a specific U.S. proposal on the name issue of our neighbouring country?

Mr. Droutsas: There is no U.S. proposal. What we have is the Greek our national red line which we have been pointing out to our collocutors, i.e. an erga omnes compound name with a geographical qualifier. This is what we discussed and what we presented.

Mr. Savvidis: So, is the red line about whether Skopje will accept a discussion only on the name issue and differentiate this discussion from the language and identity matters, is Greece discussing these at all?

Mr. Droutsas: What Greece is discussing is the UN mandate, which is clear: finding a mutually acceptable solution with our neighbouring country.

Mr. Savvidis: Mr. Minister, I believe that we will have to opportunity for a discussion here at the studio at some point, but I wanted to ask you one more thing.

There were articles or rather interpretations of the Prime Minister’s statements that the issue of a stronger and more strengthened Greek presence in Afghanistan was also discussed. Is that true?

Mr. Droutsas: Mr. Savvidis, thank you for giving me the opportunity to once again make it clear that no such issue was raised. On the contrary, both Secretary Clinton – in our talks with her – and U.S. President Obama thanked us and expressed their appreciation for Greece’s contribution in Afghanistan, particularly taking into account – as President Obama said – the difficult financial situation that the country is now in. Nothing more was asked of us.

Both sides focused our attention on what the Greek side strongly believes, i.e. that it is now time for Afghanistan, the Afghan people themselves to take their country's future in their own hands. And this is why, we must concentrate on the issue of training, not only of their security forces, but across all levels . This is an area, where we – Greece - will see what we can do too. 

Mr. Savvidis: My last question, Mr. Minister, has to do with the Cyprus issue. We all remember the time of the Annan plan, when before the Greek delegation went to meet the U.S. leadership and before the issue moved forward within the United Nations, Mr. Erdogan had paid a visit to the then U.S. President.

From the point of view of semiotics, Mr. Erdogan visited the United States not long ago, and now President Obama met of course with the Greek Prime Minister. Is there some sort of decision on the Cyprus issue already made by the Washington-Ankara axis, which is being promoted as a solution to the problem?

And also could you give us a comment as Alternate Minister, if you will, on a topical  issue that has perplexed us, the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights essentially recognising the “occupation court”.

Mr. Droutsas: With regard to the Cyprus issue, there is a process under the United Nations; There are the efforts of President Christofias in his talks with Turkish Cypriot leader Talat; this is the ongoing process. And it is a process that we support fully. Once again, allow me to express my full support for President Christofias. We must focus our attention on this process rather than any other methodical action that some might think exists.

The only thing that exists is precisely this process, and we must use all our forces in order to find out how we can find the solution we want, a solution based on UN resolutions; a European solution, as we keep pointing out in all directions. Because let’s not forget, the Republic of Cyprus is a member of the European Union. The Republic of Cyprus will be a member of the European Union even after a solution. So it should be able to function effectively within the framework of the European Union. This means that the solution agreed upon should fully respect the European acquis, the European Union rules, and this was one of the messages that the Prime Minister brought to Mr. Obama, when they spoke about the developments on the Cyprus issue. 

Mr. Savvidis: Mr. Droutsas, thank you very much for this interview.

Mr. Droutsas: Thank you.