Athens, 19 January 2010

Journalist: Alternate Foreign Minister Mr. Dimitris Droutsas is on the line with us.

Journalist: Good day, Mr. Minister.

Mr. Droutsas: Good day to you and your listeners.

Journalist: Yesterday, the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Papoulias, met with Mr. Erdogan and it seems that a couple of things came up with regard to Greek-Turkish issues. On the one hand, it became known that you will reply in the coming days and, on the other hand, Mr. Erdogan will be invited to Athens.

Mr. Droutsas: First of all, let me say that the Greek Prime Minister’s reply to Mr. Erdogan’s letter will be sent at the most appropriate moment – we’ve said this many times. And indeed I believe that it will be delivered in the next few days.

Journalist: Did we want to show that we are not in a rush? Is that why we delayed it?

Mr. Droutsas: We haven’t delayed it. We received this letter, there were also contacts with the Turkish side lately. Let me remind you of our meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr. Davutoglu, at the beginning of December in Athens, on the occasion of the OSCE Ministerial Council under the Greek OSCE Chairmanship. We believe that the time has come now to send the Greek Prime Minister’s reply to Mr. Erdogan’s letter. Nothing less and nothing more.

We said we are not in a hurry. We are conducting our policy carefully, with serious preparation, step by step. And as I said the reply to Mr. Erdogan’s letter will be sent in the coming days.

Journalist: Will Mr. Papandreou invite Mr. Erdogan himself to Athens? When and why?

Mr. Droutsas: If you remember, former Greek Prime Minister, Mr. Karamanlis, visited Ankara a while ago. It is accustomed that the Turkish Prime Minister also visits Greece. We’ve said that we seek contacts and cooperation with the Turkish side. In this spirit it is self-evident that the Greek Prime Minister will invite his Turkish counterpart to visit Athens. But this – and I stress this so that there are no misunderstandings – will be done at the right moment.

Journalist: So you are not in a position to announce any dates or at least the timing?

Mr. Droutsas: Of course not. We will do that in the coming period, in the coming months. Until then, we need to develop our contacts, our communication with the Turkish side once again. And, if possible, develop our cooperation too, so that a meeting between the two Prime Ministers can truly produce specific results.

Journalist: Will there be talks on all matters with Turkey, as Mr. Erdogan said?

Mr. Droutsas: Again I would like to ask you not to focus always on what the other side is saying, and in this particular instance the Turkish side.

We should focus more on what the Greek side, the Greek government is saying. And we have said that we seek contacts, we seek cooperation but under clear conditions and on the issues that we believe truly need to be discussed.

Now if the Turkish side thinks that it should raise any other issues it wants to discuss, no one can prevent it from mentioning them. But that doesn’t mean that the Greek side will go into any discussion or dialogue on such issues.

So to us there is no dialogue on all matters – because this is the phrase used some times.

Journalist: Beyond this stereotype about a dialogue on all matters, we see a persistence o the part of Turkey: for example, Mr. Erdogan’s statements yesterday with which he came back to the issue of the reciprocity of problems in Western Thrace and in the Greek community of Istanbul and, subsequently, the Patriarchate.

Mr. Droutsas: You said yourself that this is a persistence and I will keep repeating tirelessly the answer we gave from the very first moment. With regard to the Muslim minority of Thrace, this is an issue regarding Greek citizens. And this government does not discuss issues relating to Greek citizens with foreign governments.

We know very well what must be done and whether the Greek state must do certain things for the Muslim minority in Thrace. We know that ourselves. We have the willingness ourselves to respond to our obligations and no one else need comment, intervene or say anything.

This is why this government, the Greek government, does not discuss such issues with foreign governments.

And since you touched upon the issue of the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s rights, I would like to stress once again that these issues are now included in Turkey’s obligations vis-à-vis the EU within the framework of its accession course. And I think this is the most appropriate framework to discuss these issues with Turkey.

Journalist: Mr. Minister, it struck me that you should insist that this Greek government does not discuss the issues of the Greek Muslim minority among issues of reciprocity. I guess that you insinuate that there were other governments that were discussing them.

Mr. Droutsas: I am not insinuating any such thing, i.e. that anyone discussed such issues. It is simply that we have now taken over the responsibility for governing this country and I stress that from the outset, since the first time the government faced this issue when the Turkish side raised it, mentioned it if you will for the first time to our government, the Greek government, the response was immediate and at the level of the Prime Minister himself in fact: i.e. that the Greek government does not discuss such issues with foreign governments.

Journalist: We have been informed that at the end of the week you will be in London for the International Conference on Afghanistan. Should we expect a meeting between you and your Turkish counterpart, Mr. Davutoglu, there?

Mr. Droutsas: This International Conference will indeed take place in London next week. I have been informed that the Turkish Foreign Minister, Mr. Davutoglu, will be there too so I would not rule out a meeting on the sidelines of this conference.

But as I told you, we are looking into this, we have to examine this and see whether Mr. Davutoglu will be there, see what the timeframe will be, the practical arrangements. From my point of view – and I’ve stressed this from the outset – we are seeking contacts. We are not hiding, we are not on the defensive. We seek contacts, as I said, and I cannot rule out a meeting with the Turkish Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the London conference.

Journalist: Now since we are talking about the International Conference in Afghanistan, are there any thoughts about withdrawing our troops from this country? Given that things are getting rougher there.

Mr. Droutsas: The Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defense (KYSEA) made a decision recently. As a new government we immediately handled this issue as well. We are of course monitoring developments, and we will do what is necessary. But Greece’s contribution on this important matter with regard to Afghanistan is of course necessary and I want to stress that.

This does not have to do only with our military contribution. To us, to Greece, given our philosophy and our approach, our contribution – the assistance provided by Greece with training Afghan forces, particularly police forces, and our humanitarian aid – plays a much bigger role.

We focus on this and this is at the heart of our efforts. Because we are of the view that this country should stand on its own feet, and the more effective its training across all public structures is, the more effective its aid will be.

Journalist: Mr. Minister, yesterday, Mr. Erdogan argued that Ankara sincerely supports the negotiation process between the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat. Does the government have the same feeling, i.e. that Ankara is honest on that?

Mr. Droutsas: We’ve said that Mr. Talat submitted his proposals lately, we commented on them yesterday, and the Prime Minister found them negative as well in his meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Christofias. In fact, they are a step backwards.

Unfortunately, they do not indicate towards the direction that is needed for the resolution of the Cyprus issue. We, of course, will use any opportunity in order to call upon everyone – including Ankara of course – to look at this process in a more constructive manner, and ask for proposals by the Turkish side that are moving in the right direction.

And when we are talking about the right direction, allow me to stress a point that I think is very important. The Republic of Cyprus is an EU member-state today. It will be an EU member-state even after a solution is found. This means that it must and should be able to operate effectively within the framework of the European Union

And the result of that is that the solution to be agreed upon should take fully into account and respect the community acquis, the EU rules. They should be absolutely respected also in the proposals of Mr. Talat. Unfortunately, at the moment, these proposals are only a cause of disappointment. Because they are truly a step backwards and a step in the wrong direction.

Journalist: Are you worried about a potential failure, Mr. Minister?

Mr. Droutsas: I do not want to use such words. Of course it is a difficult process. President Christofias is doing his best, he is making very serious efforts, he is truly demonstrating the spirit that Mr. Talat should also be showing in this process.

Of course, it is not easy at the moment; as I said, the Turkish Cypriot side unfortunately has not given us what was needed in order for us to be very optimistic.

But we want to believe that it is worth to continue our efforts; it is worth for President Christofias to continue his efforts and he knows that; Cyprus as a whole knows that, and the Cypriot people know that, i.e, that President Christofias has the full trust and support of Greece, the Greek government.

Journalist: One more question. Is Mr. Papandreou planning a visit to Moscow? Has the date been set?

Mr. Droutsas: The Prime Minister is planning several trips. Among them, he has been discussing a visit to Moscow shortly.

Journalist: Before Washington.

Mr. Droutsas: As I said, with regard to the dates, they will of course be announced once a final agreement is reached. Be patient and everything will be announced. But be sure that the Prime Minister himself and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are facing weeks of very, very intensive work indeed. And this is why the Greek people voted us and honoured us with their trust.