Athens , 30 May 2011

Mr. Droutsas: It is a great pleasure to be here in Kyiv today and meet with the Foreign Minister and very dear friend, Mr. Kostyantyn Gryshchenko. I thank him for the invitation, for the hospitality, for the very good and warm climate in our talks, and I look forward to seeing him soon in Athens.

It has been a while since the last visit of a Greek Foreign Minister to Ukraine, and we have decided to give new, real impetus to Greek-Ukrainian relations.

This is already happening: beyond my visit today, in July we will have the Joint Interministerial Committee in Athens, where we will be able to look in depth and detail at our cooperation, particularly in the field of economy. And in October of this year, President Yanukovych will be visiting Greece at the invitation of President Papoulias.

The peoples of Greece and Ukraine have become very close, and I am glad to note that according to the data I have, the increase in Ukrainian visitors to Greece has been impressive, and naturally we want that increase to continue.

I know that one of the main factors bearing on tourist flows is the Schengen visa requirement, and I want to say that Greece is implementing the agreement on easing EU-Ukrainian visas with the greatest possible flexibility, and our consular missions have been instructed to facilitate the visits of Ukrainian tourists to Greece. Kostyantyn mentioned this, and I can say that we had a 55% increase in the past year.

So I want to stress clearly that Greece would be very glad to see the visa requirement removed for Ukrainian citizens, in the way that the visa requirement was waived in recent years for our neighbours in the Balkans. Greece saw the tangible, real benefits of this move, and we are working in this direction within the framework of the EU – Greece is putting all its weight behind this effort. Personally, I am convinced that such moves are important, because enabling citizens to travel freely in Europe is the best way for the peoples of Europe to come closer together and become better acquainted with one another.

Mr. Gryshchenko and I had the opportunity to discuss international and regional issues, such as the developments in Libya, as well as issues of particular interest to Greece. and we reviewed all of our economic/commercial relations, the political relations between our two countries, our cultural relations. And not just through a purely bilateral prism, but from the perspective of Ukraine’s relations with the EU, as well.

I would like to say this: Greece sees Ukraine as an invaluable partner in the Black Sea region, and there is a lot of room for further development of our relations.

There are very strong ties between our people. There is the flourishing and active Greek Ukrainian community, and there are also the Ukrainian citizens who reside in Greece.

Finally, since the Ukrainian Presidency of the Council of Europe started this month, I would like to offer my congratulations and assure you that you will have our full support, Greece’s full support. And I am also glad that Ukraine will hold the OSCE Chairmanship in 2013. As you know, Greek held the OSCE Chairmanship recently, in 2009, and we are proud to have left a legacy, the Corfu Process, and I was happy to hear that during its own Chairmanship, Ukraine wants to follow up on that initiative, and we are at you disposal for organizing visits of your personnel to Athens so that we can pass on the experience we gained during our own OSCE Chairmanship.

Kostyantyn, once again I thank you for the very warm climate in our talks, these very constructive talks, and your hospitality. And I look forward to our close cooperation and friendship.

[Excerpt from the press conference]

Journalist: What, in your view, is the advantage in these bilateral relations, and what is the point of friction or the problem you have found so far?

Mr. Droutsas: I’ll start with the easy question. There are no problems in our relations. I think we share that view, and there are very many positive aspects of our relations.

I mentioned a few. There is a flourishing Greek Ukrainian community here in Ukraine. We have a number of Ukrainian citizens who have come to live in Greece. We share a common history and common cultural roots.

Ukraine is a country that is changing very rapidly. I think it has won its role, a very important role in the region, particularly in the Black Sea region.

EU-Ukrainian relations are getting deeper and deeper, and I had the opportunity to assure Mr. Gryshchenko that Greece will do everything it can to support and further assist Ukraine’s European orientation.

This is a path in which Greece holds a profound belief, and Ukraine will find in Greece a very good and trusted partner and ally in this effort.