Athens, 17 May 2007
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Good morning. Tomorrow, 18 May, Foreign Minister Ms. Dora Bakoyannis will accompany Prime Minister Mr. Kostas Karamanlis on his state visit to Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam. The first stop on his trip will be Singapore, where the Prime Minister will have a working meeting with the President of the country.
On 30 and 31 May, the Foreign Minister will accompany the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias, on his state visit to Russia.
Finally, on 1 and 2 June, the Greek Chairmanship of the Mediterranean Forum will be hosting the 14th regular Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Mediterranean Forum, in Rethymno, Crete. According to the agenda, there will be a discussion of the prospects for Mediterranean cooperation, the political situation in the region, and certain other specific issues, such as energy, migration, and the policy for encouraging private investments.
Let me remind you that the Mediterranean Forum has been, since its founding in 1994, an unofficial forum for cooperation between five Mediterranean EU countries – that is, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Greece – and six Mediterranean partners: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Malta and Turkey. This unofficial cooperation came into existence before the Barcelona Process, which began, as you know, in 1995.
Regarding the activities of Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Yannis Valinakis, on Friday, 18 May, at 20:00, he will be the keynote speaker at an International Meeting on the subject of “European Union-the countries of the Black Sea region: simplifying the procedure for issuing tourist visas”. This meeting is being hosted in Kos, by the International Center for Black Sea Studies, in collaboration with the Municipality of the island.
On Monday, 28 May, Mr. Valinakis, accompanied by the Secretary General for European Affairs, Mr. Katsoudas, will represent our country at the proceedings of the 8th Asia-Europe Ministerial Meeting, which will be held in Hamburg.
Finally, Mr. Valinakis will participate in the proceedings of the 14th Ministerial Meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Forum, which will take place, as I said, on 1 and 2 June, in Rethymno.
Regarding the programme of Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. E. Stylianidis, today and tomorrow, 17 and 18 May, he will represent Greece at the ninth Ministerial Meeting of the 14 countries of the Human Security Network, which will take place in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Our country will be assuming the 10th Chairmanship of the Network following Slovenia’s Chairmanship, which is due to end with the annual Ministerial Forum in May 2008 to be held in our country.
As you know, Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Kassimis is already in Australia, where he will participate in the Prime Minister’s state visit there.
Your questions, please.
Ms. Rigou: Today, there is a European Union-Russia meeting regarding the Kosovo issue. Do we fall in with the Russian view or with the European Union’s view concerning the developments in Kosovo?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: At the present stage, what is most vital and of pivotal importance is for there to be a decision from the UN Security Council, because only such a decision can comprise the necessary political and legal basis for anything further on this. Moreover, the European Union will be called upon to take a stance based on this decision.
Beyond that, Greece has always believed and continues to believe, even at this stage, that solutions based on consensus are what is called for in the case of such problems. At the same time, however, as I said, at the current stage a Security Council resolution is necessary.
Mr. Gilson: I would like to ask a question on the issue of the Jerusalem Patriarchate. A day after the Jordanian government voted to retract recognition of Patriarch Theophilos, an announcement was issued in which you spoke of a hasty action on the part of the Jordanian government that did not provide the necessary time for Patriarch Theophilos to take – as you said – “the necessary decisions for which he has the corresponding responsibility.” What are these decisions that Patriarch Theophilos must make?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I will not further interpret what is, in my view, a clear statement on my part.
Mr. Gilson: But it isn’t clear what these decisions are.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: As I said, I have nothing to add to a clear Ministry statement.
Mr. Gilson: Then I want to go into greater detail. There is information to the effect that the day before the decision of the Jordanian government, when the Foreign Ministry’s Secretary General, Mr. Rokanas, met with the Patriarch, he recommended that the Patriarch satisfy the request of the Jordanian government that he ordained a second Arab-speaking Metropolitan Bishop, Archimandrite Christoforos. Is this true?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I have already answered.
Mr. Gilson: What further actions does the Foreign Ministry intend to take regarding this issue?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: As has been stressed publicly, the efforts of the Greek Foreign Ministry, which fully supports the Jerusalem Patriarchate, are aimed at resolving any misunderstandings so that we can return to a normal state of affairs so that the stature of the Patriarchate can be fully ensured and strong, and so that, at the same time, it can fulfil the mission it has undertaken for the whole of its congregation.
Ms. Kourbela: Mr. Spokesman, I would like to ask you whether the trip to China produced any economic results. My second question has to do with the Europe-Russia Summit Meeting that is to take place tomorrow – whether you believe that the hurdles with Poland will be overcome and there will be progress on the issue of the Partnership Agreement. Thank you.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I’ll start with the second question. What Greece is working for, as a member of the European Union, is for there to be progress on the particularly important – for obvious reasons – EU-Russian relations. At the same time, as you know, within the framework of the European Union – and certainly in our country – the principle of solidarity is borne in mind and taken very seriously. But the strategic objective of strong EU-Russian cooperation is a given.
With regard to your first question concerning the trip to China. In general, without going into detail, I would like to say that it was an exceptionally productive trip across the spectrum of Greek-Chinese bilateral relations with regard to both the political dimension and economic cooperation between the two countries, which is characterized by constantly growing momentum in all sectors. Beyond that, there were detailed statements from the Foreign Minister and from Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Stylianidis on the days of the trip and immediately afterwards; statements to which I refer you.
Mr. Meletis: Mr. Spokesman, I return to Kosovo. I would like to ask – as you said that solutions based on consensus are the tactic that is called for, and that a Security Council resolution is needed. What precisely do you mean? Because there may be a resolution from the Security Council and not a solution based on consensus. For example, Serbia says that it will accept no solution of independence, no form of independence for Kosovo. Do you really, as Greece, support what was said by Mr. Meimarakis yesterday in Brussels, that any solution that is found must be mutually acceptable? That’s one. Second. What is the position of the Greek government, the Foreign Ministry, on the statements from international officials that if there is not a Security Council resolution soon, they will proceed unilaterally to recognition of Kosovo’s independence? Whether you agree with the statements – that they can help matters in the Balkans.
Ms. Rigou: I’d like to add something relevant to the subject of the question, that Russia has threatened to exercise its veto in the Security Council. So it is likely that there will not be a resolution immediately and that more time will be requested to continue the negotiations.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: We have said many times in this room that what Greece’s active policy is trying to contribute to on the issue of Kosovo, throughout the negotiation process, was to move toward a solution that might be agreed upon by both sides; a solution based on consensus – a result of negotiations.
This was a firm policy throughout the duration of the process. As an objective, this position remains unchanged. At the same time, however, no one can ignore or play down the importance of the fact that the discussion has now been transferred to the framework of the UN Security Council.
So what Greece stresses is that there must be a resolution from the Security Council, because only such a resolution can provide the legal and political foundation for any further moves regarding this issue.
We have also stressed that the European Union must formulate its position when a resolution has been taken by the Security Council. And we are talking about a unified position of the European Union, following the resolution of the Security Council.
Mr. Fourlis: Will this be a decision in the light of the Security Council resolution then?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Following the Security Council resolution, the European Union will have to adopt a unified position on this issue.
Mr. Meletis: Mr. Spokesman, I will insist on what you said before. So the Greek government and the Greek Foreign Ministry believe that any change in borders, in Europe or anywhere else, is legitimized by a Security Council resolution. That is what you’re saying.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I already referred to our position.
Mr. Meletis: I’m asking: Do you believe that a change in borders is legitimized today by a Security Council resolution?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: My answer has two parts, Mr. Meletis, and I will say nothing more. That, first, throughout the process, Greece supported in every way that there must be a solution based on consensus, agreed-upon by both sides. Second, at this stage, the discussion has been moved to the Security Council, and there must be a Security Council resolution. And the EU will have to formulate a unified position afterwards on the next steps to be taken.
Mr. Meletis: I’m asking so I can understand – what is the policy of principles that the Greek government has? That up until a point we had this position, afterwards there was a change because this position could not move forward. What is the policy of principles that determined our tactics, the way we approached the biggest Balkan problem? That is what I’m asking. Is it no change of borders in the Balkans? Is it no change of borders through violence? Change through a Security Council resolution? What exactly is it? That’s what I’m asking.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: We have also referred in the past to the need to respect the principle of the inviolability of borders, first. Second, another long-standing, firm position of Greek foreign policy is respect for the decisions of the UN Security Council.
Ms. Tsiblaki: When did you learn that the Jordanian government was leaning towards retracting the recognition it had given to the Patriarch of Jerusalem? Is there any truth in the information to the effect that about a month and a half or two months ago, when Mr. Kassimis went, the Jordanian government “sounded the alarm”?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The Greek Foreign Ministry is and has been monitoring this matter with extreme care throughout the time when there have been messages or indications that forces have been building up in a specific direction. You can understand that actions taken on the diplomatic level are not disclosed as they are taken or any other time.
The issue of the Jerusalem Patriarchate must be approached with extreme care because this Patriarchate is called upon to fulfil the mission in an extremely difficult environment; an environment characterized by the focusing in this area of the aspirations and major interests – usually contradictory – of states, nations and cultures.
And it is also linked with the most complex, most difficult and longest-standing diplomatic problem in international politics. All this must be borne very seriously in mind, as must the fact that Greece’s support for the Jerusalem Patriarchate is constant, firm, provided by all possible means. At the same time, however, it must be stressed that the support, which is ongoing and firm, takes into account and respects the absolute self-rule and self-reliance of the Jerusalem Patriarchate.
Ms. Tsiblaki: Allow me to ask a question on something else. It is a long-standing demand of the Arab-speaking community to have a position, a say and a basis in the Jerusalem Patriarchate. I would like to ask whether there is some other factor– some other real reason – that led the Jordanian government to retract its recognition.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: That question has been answered.
Mr. Kapoutsis: Mr. Spokesman, you said a short while ago that there are two basic principles of foreign policy. The first is the inviolability of borders in the Balkans.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Not only in the Balkans. Generally, the inviolability of borders.
Mr. Kapoutsis: The two principles – the inviolability of borders and the other is respect for the decisions of the UN Security Council. Isn’t that what you’re saying?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Precisely.
Mr. Kapoutsis: Is there a case where these two principles clash? And when they do, what do you do?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Respect for the decisions of the UN Security Council is a policy that we have always followed to the letter and unswervingly. As is the case with respect for the inviolability of borders.
Mr. Fourlis: First of all, I would like you to be a little clearer with regard to the consensual change of borders. I would like you to tell me whether you consider the non-violent imposition of border change consensual or not; whether it is included in consensual change. And the second question I want to ask is that I wonder with regard to the Patriarchate – I understand your position fully, but I wonder why we had a statement from the competent Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr. Kassimis, if I’m not mistaken at the end of March, when he went to Jerusalem, that a new era is beginning for the Patriarchate, and why a few days before the development that took place in the Jordanian Ministerial Council, all the competent officials at the Foreign Ministry assured us that this issue was nonexistent.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Regarding your last question, I am not aware of any official statement of the Foreign Ministry saying anything like that.
Mr. Fourlis: Excuse me, but I am. I can tell you which competent officials of the Foreign Ministry and search our official questions.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I’m talking about official positions that I am aware of that were issued as such. There was never an official position from the Foreign Ministry that can be considered . . .
Mr. Fourlis: Excuse me, Mr. Spokesman, do you consider that the Foreign Ministry is not bound by the spoken, personal assurances of its Deputy Foreign Ministers? Only your announcements are binding – and what about the official statements on camera, recorded on news programs? I want to ask officially why, at the office of the competent Deputy Minister, all the competent officials assured us, categorically, that this was a non-issue 48 hours before this development took place. Were they misinformed or poorly informed or were they kidding us? That is the question.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: You are referring to something which I cannot be aware of and have an opinion on. You are referring to answers that were given orally and that I am not aware of. What I do know is which are the public and binding statements that have been issued by the Foreign Ministry. So I can’t say anything more in this discussion.
Mr. Meletis: Why did you not deny a number of articles published on the same day, throughout the Greek press, which apparently had the same source, which is a ministerial source, that Ms. Bakoyannis and Mr. Kassimis spoke with the Jordanians and everything would be fine and there is no problem? Why was this not denied by the Foreign Ministry? And you come 10 days later to tell us that you don’t know where this came from. Just to set things in order, one either speaks with responsibility for what he says or he doesn’t speak. Pardon my persistence, but we can’t do our job like this.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Let me repeat that you referred to something that I am not aware of. So I neither deny it nor confirm it – nor can I comment on it. For the simple reason that I am not aware of it. I think that what I’m saying to you is very clear and I’ll stop there.
Mr. Mavridis: Mr. Spokesman you said repeatedly that the Foreign Ministry and the Greek government firmly support the Patriarchate. I ask: Does it support the Patriarchate or does it support Theophilos?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The head of the Patriarchate is the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Mr. Mavridis: So you support Theophilos. That’s what I want.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: We support the Patriarchate and the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Mr. Fourlis: Is it the person who is the Patriarch that you support, or the institution of the Patriarch?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Whatever the case, you give long-standing support to a long-standing institution.
Ms. Kourbela: I would like to ask, Mr. Spokesman, as the issue of the Patriarchate has a European dimension, because the European Union has very close relations with Jordan and the issue of intercultural relations, etc. Did the Greek government make any demarche to the European Union?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: This topic has been exhausted.
Ms. Kolliopoulou: Another issue. I would just like to ask whether you have a date for the signing of the agreement on the Greek-Turkish pipeline. I think it’s 20 July?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I would like to check that and get back to you. I have the impression that there is some scheduling for mid-July, but I would like to check on that.
Mr. Gilson: Back to the issue of Jerusalem. There is an article in an Athens daily that states that Prince Ghazi [bin] Muhammad requested that the Jerusalem Patriarchate yield to Jordan a large area of property near the River Jordan that attracts many pilgrims for tourism development, and that the retraction of the recognition of Patriarch Theophilos by the Jordanian government is linked to the non-compliance of Theophilos with this request. Do you know anything about this?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: You are staying on the same subject and I, exercising the same right, stand on the answers that have been given.
Ms. Rigou: As early as February, Nicolas Sarkozy proposed the creation of a Mediterranean Union, and this issue has come to the fore again following his election. What is our position on the participation of Turkey in this Union?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The discussion on this issue has not begun in the European Union. It exists at this time only as the public stance on the part of the French President. The Greek stance on this will be taken when such a discussion begins on this within the framework of the European Union.
But beyond that, you know that intensive EU-Mediterranean cooperation is a firm objective of Greece as a member state of the European Union.
Ms. Fryssa: When is the Foreign Minister set to go to the Middle East on the tour that you had announced?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: At this time, the scheduling of this series of visits is being set for the second ten days of June.
Mr. Mavridis: Can you tell us something about the process and the UN on the Skopje name issue – how it will move ahead?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Yesterday, another meeting was held, within the framework of the UN process in New York, between the Secretary General’s special representative, Ambassador Mr. Nimetz, and Ambassador Mr. Vasilakis, who is representing Greece in this process, and, on behalf of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Ambassador Mr. Dimitrov.
The exchange of views continued, but I have nothing more to tell you beyond the fact that it was agreed that a new meeting will be scheduled for sometime in the coming period.
Mr. Fourlis: I would like to ask whether you have any comment on the article in today’s “Ta Nea” regarding information publicized on the webpages of the Turkish Defense General Staff concerning violations and harassment by Greek fighter planes of Turkish fighters in the area between Halkidiki, Limnos and Samothraki, if I remember correctly.
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: This data placed on the webpage of the Turkish Defense General Staff is false and fictitious. The goal is clear: It is an attempt to create false impressions. Such attempts are weighed very carefully, and we of course condemn them.
And something more. A domestic political tug-of-war cannot serve as an alibi for actions that could create a climate of tension. Such actions cannot offer a way out of any impasse. Greece evaluates them and Europe judges them.
Ms. Rigou: Regarding the European Constitutional Treaty. Mr. Valinakis stated that two thirds of European citizens have voted in favour. Mr. Sarkozy has already talked about movement on this issue, but he wants the minimum that might be included in this Treaty. How feasible is it that common ground will be found at the June Summit Meeting in the effort being made by Angela Merkel?
Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The effort being made by our country together with other member states is for steps to be taken so that the European Union can emerge from the climate of reflection and inertia of recent years on this issue, and move forward.
This position of ours takes under very serious consideration the fact that the European peoples, have taken a negative stance on the specific text that was submitted to them for approval in referenda, but, of course, we cannot – and no one can – ignore the fact that the majority of member states, 18 in total, have ratified the European Constitutional Treaty.
Thank you very much.