Athens , 26 March 2011

The following are excerpts from Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas’s 26 March 2011 interview on “NET” TV, with journalists T. Spiliotopoulos and M. Michelidakis.

[On the Obama-Papandreou telephone conversation]

·       “There were, of course, best wishes for our national holiday, but the main subject was the developments in Libya. A third point was the developments at the European Council. President Obama asked the Greek Prime Minister to brief him on the results.”

[On the European Council]

·       “It was important that we had already settled the matters of special interest to Greece at the 11 March Eurogroup Summit. I think this tactic and pursuit on the part of the Prime Minister proved not just correct, but wise, because between 11 March and 24 March, there were a lot of major developments that no one could have foreseen.”

[On Libya]

·       “We said from the very outset that we want to do our part, but without participating with our forces in the military operations. The second issue is Greece’s position and Greece’s capabilities, which the international community recognizes, and which we want to make the best use of. And the third point of our approach to and strategy on this issue is that in tandem we cannot forget that we have to take diplomatic initiatives; we need to think about the day after. The NATO Foreign Ministers, along with colleagues from the Arab world, will be meeting in London next Tuesday.”