Athens
, 17 February 2009
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Good morning.
Today, at 12:30, Foreign Minister Ms. Dora Bakoyannis will take part in Prime Minister Karamanlis’ talks with the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Alief, at the Maximos Mansion. This meeting will be followed by a working luncheon.
Today, at 15:00, Ms. Bakoyannis will attend the Greek-Azeri Business Forum being organized by the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry on “Greece-Azerbaijan: potential for business cooperation”.
Tomorrow, 18 February, Ms. Bakoyannis will meet at the Foreign Ministry with the Democratic Senator from Illinois, Mr. Richard Durbin, and Illinois State Treasurer Mr. Alexi Giannoulias. Later the same day, at 11:30, she will receive the new Secretary General of AKEL, Mr. Andros Kyprianou.
Tomorrow evening, Ms. Bakoyannis will depart for Vienna, where the Winter Meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly will take place on 19 and 20 February. Within the framework of her presence there, she will meet on Thursday, 19 February, at 10:30, with OSCE Secretary General Mr. Marc de Brichambaut, and at 11:30 with a group of U.S. Senators that are members of the Congressional Committee on security and cooperation in Europe. She will brief the Senators on the priorities of the Greek OSCE Chairmanship.
At 11:45 on the same day, she will participate in the joint session of the Three General Committees of the Parliamentary Assembly, and at 13:00, she will participate in a working luncheon being hosted by OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Mr. Soares. That’s it on the visit to Vienna.
On Friday, 20 February, at 12:00, Ms. Bakoyannis will receive Mr. Barciela, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, at the Foreign Ministry.
On Sunday, 22 February, She will depart for the United States. The visit will start in Washington. Let me give you some additional information regarding her itinerary for this trip.
On Monday, 23 February, she will speak at the Brookings Institute on “Collective Security in the 21st Century: Building new bridges”.
On Tuesday, 24 February, a meeting has been scheduled with the Chairperson and members of the Helsinki Committee – that is, the Committee on OSCE affairs.
At 12:00 the same day, the Minister will meet with the Chairperson and members of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, and a meeting with the House Committee on Foreign Affairs has been scheduled for 15:00.
On 25 February, at 11:30 local time, she will meet with Secretary of State Ms. Clinton, and immediately afterwards she will attend a working luncheon being hosted in her honor by Under Secretary for Political Affairs Mr. William Burns.
The second part of the visit to the U.S. consists of meetings in New York. When these meetings have been finalized, I will announce them to you. Perhaps late this afternoon.
Immediately after her trip to the U.S., the Foreign Minister will travel to Egypt – on 2 March – to participate in the International Conference on the reconstruction of Gaza. This Conference is being held in Sharm el Sheikh.
Today and tomorrow, 17 and 18 February, Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Valinakis will hold meetings in Brussels with members of the European Commission and the European Parliament.
On Monday, 23 February, Mr. Valinakis will represent Greece at the proceedings of the EU General Affairs Council in Brussels. In addition to preparing for the European Council of 19-20 March, this GAERC will look at the following issues: The situation in the Western Balkans, with emphasis on Montenegro’s application for accession to the EU; the latest developments in Bosnia-Herzegovina; the latest developments in the Middle East; the East European Partnership; energy security; and the situation in Afghanistan.
On the margins of the GAERC, there will be a meeting of the EU-Lebanon Cooperation Council and an EU Troika-Albania meeting.
Mr. Valinakis will also meet with the EU Regional Policy Commissioner, Ms. Hübner.
At 13:40 today, Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Varvitsiotis will address a working luncheon being organized by the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV) and the Greek-Turkish Business Council marking the opening of the Turkish bank Ziraat in Athens. At 15:00 – later today, that is – Mr. Varvitsiotis will give a welcome speech at the ACCI-hosted forum on “Greece-Azerbaijan: potential for business cooperation”. Finally, at 18:00 he will take part in the Hellenic Parliament Plenary debate on the principle, articles and overall draft law on the ratification of the NATO protocols regarding the accession of Albania and Croatia.
That’s it for announcements. Your questions, please.
Mr. Papathanasiou: Can you tell us more about the agenda for the Minister’s meeting with Ms. Clinton?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: As we said, Ms. Bakoyannis it making this trip in a double capacity, as OSCE Chairperson and as Greek Foreign Minister. So the two thematic streams will be OSCE issues, on the one hand, and issues of mutual interest on the other, including international and regional issues, the Middle East, the Caucasus, EU-U.S. relations and issues of particular Greek interest, such as, the situation in the Balkans and the region, relations with Turkey and, of course, the Cyprus issue. So it is a first meeting that provides the opportunity for a wide-ranging exchange of opinions with Ms. Clinton and in the other meetings Ms. Bakoyannis has.
Ms. Koridi: Do you think it is positive that Mr. Durbin has been in Nicosia since Sunday and will be coming here to Athens afterwards? And I would like a comment from you on the Cypriot President’s proposal concerning an alternating presidency.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: With regard to your second point, you know the general position, which is essentially a position of support for the efforts being made by the government of the Republic of Cyprus in the effort to resolve the issue.
But I will not comment on individual issues in the negotiations. Moreover, the governmental chapter has closed at this stage, in the sense that it has already been discussed. And they are talking about other issues. They are already discussing the property issue.
Regarding your first question, I answered at our previous meeting that the fact that a visit is taking place, this visit so soon after the new administration took office, with new members in Congress – the Senate and the House of Representatives – is a positive development, a positive event, because it provides the opportunity for a first-hand briefing on issues that of course are of particular interest to Greece.
Mr. Athanassopoulos: I just wanted to ask whether there are plans for a potential meeting with the U.S. Vice-President.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: We will announce more details about the programme, as soon as they are finalised.
Mr. Papathanassiou: A comment on the Gruevski statements.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: They are monotonous repetitions that are not of help.
Mr. Meletis: Mr. Spokesman, why did Mr. Vassilakis think or why did he ask Mr. Nimetz for there not to be any moves in the period between the Skopje elections and the European elections? Do they think that the European Parliament elections are an obstacle to this process?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I don’t know what Mr. Vassilakis mentioned in his statements that there is a request on the part of Greece for there not to be any meetings due to elections, be they in our neighbouring country or the upcoming European Parliament elections.
The reality is that this meeting was the first meeting to be held with the participation of the new Skopje negotiator, it had an exploratory nature, to a great extent, it was a getting-to-know-each-other meeting, and it was held just a few days before municipal and presidential elections in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The European Parliament elections are another process and, in any event, no specific request has been put forward for postponing meetings due to the European Parliament elections.
Mr. Meletis: Is it an initiative of Mr. Nimetz, thinking that in view of the European Parliament elections he cannot undertake any initiatives or make any moves?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Mr. Nimetz makes his assessments as to when he will make his next moves within his mandate based both on the substantial progress made with regard to the talks and on other political developments.
Mr. Meletis: Has Mr. Nimetz’s latest proposal been rejected?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: What we’ve already said about this proposal still stands.
Mr. Meletis: I don’t remember, could you please repeat it?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Of course. According to the position presented by the Foreign Minister before the Hellenic Parliament, we think that the latest proposal has certain elements that would allow this particular proposal – provided there is a constructive stance from Skopje – to take on a dynamic that could lead to a solution.
Mr. Fourlis: I would like to ask you to clarify to us a bit more so that we can understand what the Foreign Minister meant when she said in her speech last night “we are looking forward to a foreign policy by the new U.S. Administration and President Obama that will be made based on cooperation and multilateralism.” Could you clarify to us what that means? Will we talk with them every time a decision is made?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Let me start by saying that it is well known and, on the other hand, that it is taken into account in the Greek government’s assessments, that states have major strategic interests and that major strategic interests cannot be transformed or radically changed in the space of one year.
At the same time, it is also important and it is also taken into account that fresh faces in positions of power could become, and indeed are, vectors of new ideas and new approaches. The messages and decisions made to date by the new U.S. administration on foreign policy issues have been seen in a positive light not just by Greece but in general, thus confirming the need, if you will, for certain adjustments.
What comes out of this discussion and public statements is that greater emphasis will be given to the process of dialogue, and that there will be less unilateralism – compared to the past. This is also a positive basis for Greek-U.S. relations and for their course and the way in which they will be shaped from now on. There are strong foundations, based on traditional friendship and cooperation.
This is the general framework, and it is within this framework that we are making a positive assessment. That is, that we can give Greek-U.S. relations new substance and new depth and new scope. This is the point of departure. It is a realistic and hopeful start, at the same time.
Mr. Athanassopoulos: Could you tell us whether the unstable political and financial situation in the country could influence the Foreign Minister’s talks in Washington and subsequently whether you think this will influence international relations in general, and the country’s relations with its European partners in particular.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The unfavourable economic environment, the global economic crisis, is a challenge for all of us. The international community and the European Union, through their actions, are sending a message in all directions, i.e., that faced with common challenges, such as the current economic crisis, we need joint efforts. We need cooperation.
At the end of the day, this cooperation is not just about the economy but also about the way in which we see the course of the international community. So I would like to repeat that there is scope for mutual understanding, for new ideas and approaches on issues that were always of concern to Greek-U.S. relations, be they issues of Greek priority or regional and international issues.
Ms. Kourbella: I would say there is a tendency in Europe and the U.S. towards strengthening Euroatlantic relations, given the new U.S. administration under President Obama. Is there maybe a Greek initiative that could be added to this general tendency? Because we already see this development and a book has just come out suggesting a new partnership between Europe and the United States. Thank you.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Greece firmly believes in, and pursues, a strong European Union in the international environment. We believe that a strong European Union can and must be an equal partner with the United States.
We believe that the transatlantic relationship can be mutually beneficial if it is based on an equal footing. Europe should play a strong role and have a single voice. This is our conviction. This is what our policy is aimed at.
Thank you.