Athens, 22 February 2007

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Good morning.

This coming Tuesday, 27 February, at 16:00, the Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy is organising a lecture on “The work and mission of the International Maritime Organization”. IMO Secretary General Mr. Efthimios Mitropoulos will deliver the lecture, and he will be introduced by Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Y. Valinakis.

Regarding the programmes of the Deputy Foreign Ministers, on 24 February, at 17:00, Mr. Stylianidis will address an event being organized by the Athens daily Naftemporiki, in collaboration with the chambers of commerce and industry of the prefectures of Xanthi, Rodopi and Evros, on the subject of “Thrace: on the edge of Greece and at the centre of developments”.

On 25 February, Deputy FM Mr. Stylianidis will meet with World Food Programme (WFP) Deputy Executive Director Mr. Powell, within the framework of the collaboration between the Foreign Ministry’s Hellenic AID and the WFP on joint combating of hunger.

On 27 February, at 19:00, Mr. Stylianidis will address a Halkida Chamber of Commerce event on the subject of “The new strategy of Greek economic diplomacy”.

On Saturday and Sunday, 24 and 25 February 2007, Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Kassimis will be in Istanbul, representing the Greek government at the celebration of the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

On Wednesday, 28 February, Mr. Kassimis will meet with Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Mr. Efraim Sneh, who will be on an official visit to our country. On the same day, he will be in attendance – as the competent Deputy Minister – at the Presidential Mansion, where the President of the Republic will award honorary distinctions to prominent Greeks in the US.

Your questions, please.

Mr. Konstantinidis: Mr. Spokesman, following his meeting with Cypriot President Papadopoulos, Mr. Papandreou made a statement in which – having said that he was concerned at developments in the Cyprus issue – he concluded, rather emphatically, that there should be a new national policy on the Cyprus issue, and that there isn’t one at the current time.

And I ask, is there or is there not a national policy on the Cyprus issue?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: There is a clear policy that is being followed. There is a clear strategic policy that we have repeatedly stated. But you can see that the Foreign Ministry spokesman cannot comment on Mr. Papandreou’s assessment.

Mr. Fourlis: I wanted to ask whether or not Cyprus made things easier for Greece through its tactics on the issue of its agreement with Lebanon.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: There is no question of things being made easier or not. I think that yesterday’s statements from the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic of Cyprus provide a clear framework that does not allow for doubts and misunderstanding in this regard.

Mr. Kapoutsis: Regarding the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone, why isn’t the delimitation of this zone – between Greece and Cyprus or Greece and Egypt or whatever – moving ahead? What are the problems?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: At this time – and  I stress this – there is nothing specific on this issue. This is a technical issue and, as I said, I don’t think that at this time there is a particular development that we can discuss.

Mr. Spyropoulos: I wanted to ask about Kosovo, as the talks between the Albanians and Serbs started yesterday. How is this multi-ethnicity requested by the international community compatible with the Ahtisaari plan, which mentions independence under international monitoring, if one also bears in mind, of course, the fact that the Albanians are the large majority in Kosovo?

I would also like a comment on the stance of the Serbian Orthodox Church, which requested, through a resolution it adopted, that the Holy Synod put pressure on the international community to keep the Ahtisaari plan from passing. My first question.

And my second question concerns the so-called protective zones for Orthodox churches and cultural monuments in Kosovo. What does the Greek Foreign Ministry know about this issue, whether it has taken any actions in this direction. What is the Foreign Ministry’s comment on the recent persecutions of Serbs by Albanian demonstrators in Pristina and the damage done to an Orthodox church there? Thank you.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Yesterday, the negotiation process began. These negotiations are expected to be – and are, indeed – difficult, given that the two sides are starting from completely different points of departure.

Very briefly, Belgrade’s position is for anything but independence, while Pristina’s is for nothing but independence. You can see that the two initial positions, which are so divergent, presage very difficult and complex negotiations.

And the parties – whether officially or unofficially – are attempting to create an atmosphere in the negotiations that they think satisfies – or in any case favours – their priorities. This is also my comment the activities and initiatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Regarding your last question, on the stance of the one side and the problems it has created – as is apparent from the incidents – for the other side, Greece’s position is clear. We have stressed within and outside the European Union that the two parties must abstain from unilateral actions or any actions that tend, first, to create a negative atmosphere in the negotiations and, second, to bias the course of the negotiations in the direction desired by a given side.

As for the protection of historical and religious monuments, the Greek Foreign Ministry has repeatedly taken positions, in a variety of tones, on this critical question, and has raised it in all its meetings with Mr. Ahtisaari, the countries in the region, and of course the discussions with the two involved parties in Belgrade and Pristina.

And let me also say that on the part of Greece – not the Foreign Ministry officially – a detailed proposal regarding the protection of these sites was presented through a research institute in the initial stages of the negotiations and discussion. Mr. Ahtisaari was also made aware of this proposal, and things took there course.

Today we have the proposals that have been formulated by Mr. Ahtisaari and are at this time undergoing the trial of tough negotiations.

Mr. Tsaka: Regarding the issue of Albania and the elections. A few days ago you expressed your dismay at developments in the election procedure. Does this dismay hold true for the elections?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I would say that the exact formulation is not dismay, but was an expression of concern and worry regarding information that was substantiated in the end; that there were phenomena of substantial irregulaties in the course of the electoral process, especially in the region of Heimara.

This was an assessment that completely coincided with observations and remarks that had been made by ODIHR observers, who were in the region.

Based on this state of  affairs, we expressed our concerns.

Mr. Tsaka: The latest developments in Heimara indicate that these elections are the first in which both sides are celebrating, i.e., Mr. Bolanos and the Democratic Party. Both sides are celebrating Mr. Bolanos’ victory and celebrating in cafes; and in fact there were even some Greeks who said “long live Berisha”. What is your comment, what is this climate bringing?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I will not make any comment regarding day-to-day developments in any region of Albania following the elections.

We took a position when there was information that – as was apparent at the time and later on – corresponded to the reality of the situation.

And that is where we stood. We observed a violation of fundamental democratic rules that must characterize the electoral and vote-counting process. Beyond that, I have no comment on what you said.

Mr. Tsaka: Yes. Through these elections, Albania had a particular objective that if the process was smooth and very positive it would have received good marks from the ODHIR and the EU. You, as a member of the European Union – what marks can you give it, i.e., has Albania moved forward or will it be a while until elections can be . . .

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I will limit myself to the clarifications that we made on the days of the vote. I will not say anything further. Greece does not “give marks”.

There are international organisations that have this specific responsibility; they are the ones that evaluate developments and the ones that draw conclusions.

Mr. Santamouris: Today, the state news agency reported a statement from a US official, according to which it is up to Greece to choose whether it wants to become a base for US missile installations.

Has such an issue been put forward at a diplomatic level, extra-judicially, at discussions within NATO? Thank you.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I have the exact extract of the statement made by Mr. Tom Casey, who, as the Deputy Spokesman of the State Department, says that there is no agreement on the participation of Greece in this mechanism. I have nothing to add on this very clear position. There is no such issue, as indicated by Mr. Casey’s statements.

Mr. Hadoulis: A clarification and a question, please. You previously talked about a certain research center that has put forward proposals on the protection of monuments in Kosovo. Could you tell us a bit more on this issue, the center’s name and whether it is a non-governmental organization, what exactly is it?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: One of the most famous research institutes on international relations in the country, and which is well known and recognised internationally.

Mr. Hadoulis: And my question relates to something that does not come directly within the Ministry’s competences, but late last night there was a announcement from the Education Ministry on degrees from Serbia.

With regard to discussions held with embassies on this issue, does the Ministry have something to say on the issue of degrees from Serbia that are not to be recognised until further notice?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I think that I heard something this morning about this Education Ministry decision. I have nothing to add and no comment to make. It is an issue that is completely within the competency of the Education Ministry, which I think has taken a clear stance today.

Have a good weekend.