Athens , 4 March 2009

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Good morning. Foreign Minister Bakoyannis will travel to Brussels today to participate in this evening’s Transatlantic dinner and in tomorrow’s Informal Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers.

NATO and EU member state Foreign Ministers will attend today’s Transatlantic dinner, along with high-ranking officials from both organizations.

The main subjects of discussion at tomorrow’s Meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers will include the NATO operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo, NATO-Russian relations, reorganization of NATO headquarters, and the discussion on the allied security declaration.

Parenthetically, let me say that this declaration is essentially by way of preparation for the declaration set to be adopted at the Summit Meeting scheduled for 4-5 April in France and Germany.

At tomorrow’s Meeting, there will also be NATO-Ukraine and NATO-Georgia Councils.

On Monday, 9 March, Ms. Bakoyannis will be in Paris, where she will be received by French Prime Minister Mr. Francois Fillon – and on the evening of the same day she will be made a member of the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences.

Regarding Deputy Foreign Minister Kassimis’ programme, as we speak he is participating in the parliamentary debate on the draft law regarding the vote for expatriate Greeks. Tomorrow, Thursday, at 13:00, Mr. Kassimis will meet at the Foreign Ministry with the Patriarch of Alexandria Theodoros. On Friday, at 11:30, he will receive the new Russian Ambassador to Athens, Mr. Vladimir Chkhikvishvilli, at the Foreign Ministry.

On Sunday, 8 March, Mr. Kassimis will be in Istanbul to represent the Greek government at the celebration of Orthodoxy Day, at the Phanar.

On Monday and Tuesday, 9 and 10 March, Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Varvitsiotis will be in Tirana, where he will meet with Foreign Minister Mr. L. Basha, with the Albanian Minister of Economy and Energy Mr. G. Ruli, and with representatives of Greek enterprises active in Albania.

That’s it for announcements. Your questions, please.

Mr. Papathanasiou: In the announcement you issued regarding Skopje, you said that there might be consequences. What are these consequences?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: We are talking about disproportionate consequences from the stance of the Skopje authorities towards Greek citizens. Is that what you are referring to?

Mr. Papathanasiou: Yes.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Because I don’t think we’re talking about other consequences. In an announcement yesterday, we identified the reasons why it was deemed prudent to inform Greek citizens planning to travel to or through the territory of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Among these reasons, we mentioned extreme strictness – to the point of abuse – in the implementation of legislation by the Skopje authorities, resulting in disproportionately negative results for these Greek citizens.

Among such consequences for Greek citizens, I could mention the imposing of very high – certainly disproportionate – fines, very simple administrative violations being referred to courts, forcing truck drivers to unload for checks at any point on their route and in any kind of weather conditions.

Among these disproportionate consequences, one could include the confiscation or threat of confiscation of trucks for questionable violations that might be dealt with via payment of a simple fine. Confiscation of passports and IDs until relevant fines are paid or until cases are tried, which leads to their being barred from exiting the country for shorter or longer periods of time. These are just a few examples of what we described in yesterday’s announcement as disproportionate consequences.

Ms. Voudouri: In its announcement yesterday, the Skopje Foreign Ministry proposed the setting up of a joint committee – I don’t know on what level, exactly – in order to avert incidents like those that occurred in Ohrid on Sunday. How do you view this proposal?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: What is self-evident does not require committees. Rather than suggesting the setting up of committees as a pretext, what needs to happen is for the problems to be resolved through the right decisions.

Mr. Santamouris: Do you think that these incidents have to do with the dysfunctional authorities in our neighbouring country, or is something else behind them? And I say this because Skopje’s administrative mechanism has been checked a number of times for the manner in which it operates, but – on the other hand – one could say, one could put all this conduct down to the pending problem that also exists with the policy being followed.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The interpretation of these combined incidents and the escalation of the specific climate described in yesterday’s announcement from the Foreign Ministry. I have nothing further to add.

Mr. Hadoulis: Is there an estimate of how many Greeks go to Skopje each year? As a visa is still required to go, I think – or isn’t one?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I don’t know the exact number. If you are interested, we can talk to the competent ministry or find out if there is a record and give it to you but …[*]

Mr. Hadoulis: Is a visa still required?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: A visa is not required.

Mr. Meletis: Mr. Spokesman, as I am surprised to hear of a travel advisory regarding a traffic violation fine, I want to ask: Why wasn’t similar sensitivity to informing Greek citizens shown some months ago when we had really serious incidents with the stoning of the Liaison Office in Skopje and problems at the border with trucks, with checks carried out on trucks, with Skopje accusing us and our accusing Skopje – and suddenly there is this sensitivity now? And to what extent are we not afraid that this travel advisory – on the occasion of the recent traffic regulations – essentially trivializes even the form of the announcement, this travel advisory.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Mr. Meletis, yesterday’s announcement, the notification and advice to Greek citizens, has very specific thinking behind it that cannot be reduced to what you said. Your question contains a very limited reading of the announcement.

We issued an announcement encouraging Greek citizens to be bettering informed about the regulations in force and the conduct they will find in Skopje and to be careful when travelling there. And that cannot be reduced just to the matter of fines.

Regarding the first part of your question, we are talking here about Greek citizens.

We are talking about Greek citizens, and they are the ones we informed in yesterday’s announcement. Moreover, it has been observed and assessed that there is an deterioration.

Mr. Meletis: If I remember well, customs cooperation issues, truck transiting, transiting of commercial vehicles, etc., are determined based on the Interim Accord. Isn’t there a mechanism for resolving these differences? That is, now that we have been living with the Interim Accord for 20 years, now this mechanism suddenly doesn’t exist and there was a need to issue a travel advisory? And in any case, excuse me, I wanted to ask, that is, what do you recommend to the thousands of truck drivers who are obliged to pass through Skopje in order to get to Germany: not to pass through Skopje, or to refuse to pay the fines?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: You are usually very thoroughly prepared. As an answer, I have only to repeat the penultimate paragraph of the announcement.

“Greek citizens are encouraged to familiarize themselves in a timely manner regarding the regulations in effect in FYROM, to comply with them carefully and, mainly, to exercise caution and prudence regarding their safety.”

Regarding your question, I have a document here that contains a record of similar incidents. It is a three-page document. I will refer some of these incidents just to give you an indication.

For example, there is an complaint from the Giannitsa drivers’ association regarding unjustified duties, transit, escort and document processing charges, delays and hostile conduct at the border of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia. Driver complaints regarding a request …

Journalist: (off microphone)

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Driver complaints regarding a request for bribes from border employees at the FYROM-Serbia border so as to avert a long delay of over five hours. Complaint regarding the seizure of a refrigerator truck at the Bogorodica-Evzoni border station without just cause, as well as the harassment suffered by the driver before his passport was returned to him. There are three …

Mr. Meletis: Excuse me. I accept that. It’s just that …

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Mr. Meletis, let me finish. There are …

Mr. Meletis: These are personal allegations. Are they certified by organs, that is Greek Customs …

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: When such incidents become a pattern, we are obliged to bear this in mind. It is our duty to inform Greek citizens in order to facilitate their transit through or stay in the territory of the neighbouring country.

Our intention was to point this out to Greek citizens so that they might take all the necessary measures to make their transit through or stay in the neighbouring country easier.

You used the term “travel advisory”. That term is not mentioned anywhere in the announcement. It is an informative announcement recommending greater caution.

Mr. Meletis: Can we have this document?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: It is an internal document. I just referred to two incidents to give you an indication.

Mr. Santamouris: Will the intensification of this phenomenon – as attested to by the reaction of the Foreign Ministry – impact a possible visit by Ms. Bakoyannis to the neighbouring country in here capacity and OSCE Chairperson?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: This visit, which is intended to take place some time in 2009, is in no way linked to bilateral relations or the name issue.

Mr. Santamouris: And one more matter. At the Meeting of Ministers and the dinner, will Ms. Bakoyannis have the opportunity for one-on-one meetings or scheduled one-on-one meetings?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: There is nothing on those lines at this time.

Mr. Meletis: I would like a clarification. Once again, on those allegations you mentioned, because I don’t understand this: There is an allegation from a driver that they illegally seized his truck. What actions have the Greek Foreign Ministry and the Greek Liaison Office in Skopje taken to correct this injustice against the Greek citizen? Because in general to advise that one be in accordance with the law – but if they steal the guy’s truck, something has to be done here.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The cases that I mentioned are not a simple record of some vague complaints or allegations that are simply personal and not cross-checked by our missions. The Liaison Office is directly involved and providing assistance with regard to all of the cases that have been reported.

None of what I mentioned is simple personal, unconfirmed allegations. For example, in the relatively recent case of the attempted seizure of the truck and its forced unloading, Liaison Office personnel – to the level of Ambassador Papadopoulou – put in a lot of hours, even days, to settle the issue that was created.

So I come back to what I said to you: this is not simply the adoption and reporting of unconfirmed, personal allegations.

Mr. Fourlis: As we have confirmed what we understood from your announcement – that is, that there is systematic observation and study on your part – I want to ask why the Foreign Minister did not raise the issue of Skopje in general during her visit to the U.S., given that you had found there to be serious, recurring problems.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: As you know, the subject on which the Greek government briefs its collocutors concerns the subject of the dispute over the name and not bilateral issues of this nature. And it was such a discussion and briefing that took place during Ms. Bakoyannis’ visit to Washington. During her discussion with Mr. Burns and with U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN Ms. Susan Rice.

Clear submission was made of concerns regarding the general impact on the negotiations of the political atmosphere being cultivated in our neighbouring country. This, in relationship to the course of the negotiations on the name issue, which you know – however – is not something of a bilateral nature.

Mr. Fourlis: With regard to the U.S., in this case, why wasn’t the name issue raised on the highest level, given that the Greek government characterised the U.S.’s unilateral recognition as unfortunate handling when it happened a few years ago?

So the Foreign Ministry and the Minister did not think that with the change in leadership in the U.S., it might be a good idea to brief the new leadership on the mistakes of the old leadership?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: What should have been done was done. The briefings that should have been carried out were carried out.

Mr. Kapoutsis: Is the Minister planning to raise the issue of the conduct of the Customs Authorities – which, I think, carry out the orders of the government; customs personnel do not act arbitrarily – at the highest levels of her talks, whether within NATO, the EU or elsewhere?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The  actions called for were taken.

Mr. Kapoutsis: Will there be a follow-up?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: If need be, yes. And in any case, so there is no misunderstanding, in every such case it is the Greek citizens who seek the assistance and support of our diplomatic missions in the neighbouring country. And the effort to resolve the problems is made by our diplomatic missions there.

But by the same token, it is our duty to inform Greek citizens when an increase has been observed in the frequency of such incidents, within a specific period of time when they came to take on the form of unprovoked attacks on Greek visitors to the neighbouring country. So it is our obligation and duty to inform Greek citizens.

Mr. Santamouris:  Is our liaison office’s demarche to our neighbouring country’s Foreign Ministry included within the framework of advisable actions taken yesterday? And if yes, how …

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The demarche made yesterday by Ms. Papadopoulou to the Foreign Ministry in Skopje related to the specific incident on Saturday. We asked that those responsible for it be arrested and punished and that special care be taken in order to protect Greeks visiting or transiting through our neighbouring country. That was the subject of the demarche.

Mr. Santamouris:  One more question, Mr. Spokesman. What we knew up to now was that the problem, our difference with Skopje, was of an international nature, it had to do with the name and that our bilateral relations were very good. Now judging from that and from the frequency of the incidents you described, we see that an issue of bilateral problems is now being opened.

Is this irrelevant to the whole development of the name issue, is it something new, something that in your view will close without any particular actions being taken?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: First of all, I would like to point out a general position. Greece fully believes in the usefulness of such contacts and of contacts between peoples. This is a firm position of Greece and the Greek government.

In implementation of this principle, the Greek government has fully separated the topic of the discussions under the UN auspices towards finding a mutually acceptable solution on the name issue from the contacts between the two peoples, which we are pursuing and which we find useful.

Besides, it is well known that precisely within the framework of our general position, Greece has drawn up the Hellenic Programme for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans (HiPERB). This includes a special chapter on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Funds have been earmarked for the implementation of this particular part of the Programme. In any event, we are taking great care and putting great efforts towards avoiding any negative consequences of the well-known pending name issue on contacts between the two peoples. In fact, we are trying to preserve their good level and are looking into whether we can enhance contacts between the two peoples even further.

Ms. Fryssa: (off microphone)

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Mr. Gruevski. What can I say? It was only three days following the attack against Greek citizens and following the publication of an announcement by the Greek Foreign Ministry that Mr. Gruevski made this statement. Even now, even in the manner in which it was made, this obvious move on the part of Mr. Gruevski is moving in the right direction. As I said, Greece believes that contacts between peoples are useful.

Mr. Meletis: Mr. Spokesman, I would like to ask whether in any of the meetings in the United States, Ms. Bakoyannis raised in any way the issue of the Turkish occupation to the Americans, and whether a request – similar to the one put forward to the British – was put forward on the non-participation at least of a U.S. ship in parts of the exercise infringing Greek sovereign rights.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The issue of Greek-Turkish relations was one of the issues put forward by the Greek side in the Minister’s meetings in the United States.

More particularly, Greece’s positions were clearly made known to all participating countries and it has been noted that these countries have to act in full respect for Greek sovereign rights and Greek competences, as provided for by international law, international treaties and international rules.

Mr. Meletis: (Off microphone) Was this issue raised by the Foreign Minister in her meetings?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I said that there was a general and full discussion on Greek-Turkish relations.

Mr. Meletis: I am asking about this particular thing.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: This issue was also covered. Besides, briefings have been carried out – for some time now – and these briefings are continuing.

Mr. Meletis: What was the answer given? Was the answer satisfactory?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: At this stage, I am not going to add anything more.

Mr. Meletis: So you’re saying that we will have to wait and see the end result.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I have already answered that.

Mr. Santamouris: I would like to ask under what status and within which framework the Foreign Minister’s meeting will be held with Prime Minister Fillon and whether there is any information on the meeting’s agenda. Thank you.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: It will be held within the framework of bilateral contacts between the two countries and their governments.

Mr. Dimadis: I would like to ask a question with regard to the incidents that you also referred to, the widespread incidents in our neighbouring country, Skopje, as to how you interpret them politically and whether you think that they will become more frequent in the coming period.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: In the first announcement that came out Saturday and also in yesterday’s announcement, we present the conclusion we have come to. That is, that the rhetoric of fanaticism and intolerance adopted by the neighbouring country's leadership over the past period is resulting in a political and ideological environment that doesn’t avert or at least doesn’t discourage such behaviour.

Mr. Dimadis: Could we have a more specific answer?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: With regard to their future repetition. You asked what our assessment is on whether there will be more such incidents in future. I hope not.

Mr. Fourlis: In your view, will the climate bred by these incidents and the deterioration at the level of the atmosphere in the relations between the two peoples influence the negotiations under way?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: As I said, Greece strongly believes and pursues normal contacts between the two peoples. Our position is firm. We are sorry that such incidents have taken place. Unquestionably, the incidents that have been produced in this particular, as I said, political and ideological atmosphere created in the past period by our neighbouring country’s leadership have resulted in a not-so-constructive environment, to say the least, in view of efforts as part of the ongoing negotiations on the name issue.

We are indeed witnessing inaction in these negotiations and what we hope for and what we will work towards is to put an end to this stagnation as soon as possible. But we are not to blame here. The other side is to blame.

Mr. Dimadis: With regard to the neighbouring country’s accession perspective, beyond the name issue, do you believe that these events will also become a further hurdle in the country’s course towards European integration?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: It is not up to us, or not just us, to assess that.

Mr. Dimadis: I mean, whether these incidents will be used by the Greek side.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I already answered. I would like to use this opportunity to remind you of our own position: Greece is not glad when there are delays in the European perspective of neighbouring countries, because it is our belief and our strategic objective that their European perspective should move ahead smoothly – given of course that there is compliance with the prerequisites and rules – in order for our neighbourhood to come closer to the European Union and ultimately, at the end of the process provided for, for our neighbouring countries to become members of the European Union.

This is Greece’s firm strategic pursuit and we are not going to budge from this. So we are not glad when there are delays. And as you realize, this is not because of Greece or because of the European Union.

Candidate states should follow policies in order to comply to prerequisites. We would be glad – and we said so – to see this political support for our neighbouring countries’ accession to the European Union and NATO bear fruit.

We were glad and we expressed our satisfaction on Bulgaria’s and Romania’s accession in the European Union, and we did that because we believe that there should be a successful outcome to the efforts made by our neighbouring countries.

Beyond that, whether the results of this process are produced quickly or whether there are delays is not up to us. It is up to the interested countries to move ahead with their European perspective.

Mr. Dimadis: And one last thing, because I am sure that you have been following reports in the press about the Foreign Ministry and how it has been handling European and international issues, I would like to ask for your comment on the latest report in the “Free Sunday” daily about an overall climate of favoritism in the Foreign Ministry, which might disgruntle certain diplomats.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I am not willing to comment on reports relating to the Ministry’s internal operation. And in any event there are no occurrences of favoritism within the Ministry.

Thank you.