Athens, 26 July 2007

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Good morning.

On Sunday, 29 July, Foreign Minister Ms. Dora Bakoyannis will accompany the Prime Minister on his visit to Paris. Ms. Bakoyannis will take this opportunity to meet with her French counterpart, Mr. Bernard Kouchner, in Paris.

The subject of their talks will include the following groups of issues: bilateral political and economic relations. European issues – concerning, of course, enlargement, the course of the reform treaty, etc. – and, finally, regional and international issues: the Balkans, the Middle East and other international issues of mutual interest.

On Monday and Tuesday, 30 and 31 July, the two-day conference of Foreign Ministry Ambassadors will take place. As you might remember, the first such conference took place at about this time last year, and this meeting in Athens of Greek Ambassadors is taking place for the second consecutive year. It is aimed a the fullest possible briefing and optimum coordination of the Diplomatic Service and our foreign policy.

The proceedings will be opened by Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Valinakis, and the conference is to be addressed by Finance Minister Mr. Alogoskoufis and Development Minister Mr. Sioufas.

Also scheduled are speeches by Defense Minister Mr. Meimarakis, Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Stylianidis, Secretary General for European Affairs Mr. Katsoudas, and Secretary General for International Economic Relations and Development Cooperation Mr. Skylakakis. Presentations will be made by representatives from the Federation of Greek Industries, the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research, the Hellenic Center for Investment, etc.

Foreign Minister Ms. Bakoyannis will close the proceedings. During these two days, there will also be talks by other Foreign Ministry personnel and officials.

The basic topic headings to be covered during the proceedings include issues concerning the European Union, energy policy and energy diplomacy, international organizations, Greek-Turkish relations, the Cyprus issue, Greece’s policy for Southeast Europe, international economic relations and economic diplomacy, development cooperation and the development of public diplomacy.

I’d like to make a statement: We welcome the liberation and return of the Bulgarian nurses and doctor following their years of detention in Libya. Greece – consistent in its firm opposition to the death penalty – also offered its support, and expresses its deep appreciation to all those who contributed at the critical stage in the efforts that, in the end, led to a positive outcome on this serious humanitarian issue.

Given the fact that on 1 August the Foreign Ministry’s new website will have been in operation for six months, I would like to say a few words about the conclusions that have been drawn regarding these first six months.

It must be stressed that it was developed exclusively by Ministry personnel, and in particular by the webpage administration and development department.

The basic characteristics introduced by the new, renovated webpage are the following:

First, emphasis on user-friendly interaction, which is aimed at helping and guiding each visitor according to their needs.

Second, the introduction of a daily “Top Story”, which highlights news and important issues concerning the country’s foreign policy.

Third, the addition of services offered to citizens who use the website, such as the inclusion of the political leadership’s programmes, the Information Department’s pre-2005 archives, which I hope will make your jobs easier.

Today, after six months of operation, we observe an ongoing increase in visits to the new webpage – on the order of 35% or more. We currently have 5,700 users daily, which is a spectacular increase in traffic as compared to earlier periods.

I would also like to say two or three things about our plans for further upgrading. Within the coming months, certain initiatives will be implemented. New programmes will be implemented using state-of-the-art technology, mainly concerning the development of uniform presentation of all of the Foreign Ministry’s websites, including those of its missions abroad. I will announce these innovations as their implementation draws near. They are being carried out in order to facilitate our collaboration and to make your jobs easier; that is, we will use the new technology to inform diplomatic correspondents – and, through you, public opinion – more quickly, more securely and more reliably.

That’s it for announcements, and I am at your disposal if you have any question.

Ms. Fryssa: I would like to ask for your comment on the statements of the Skopje Foreign Minister regarding allowing Greek citizens to visit FYROM with just their ID cards.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: What we have officially been informed of is that the government of Skopje is considering the possibility of implementing such a decision. So, based on what we have been informed of, that’s where we stand. I don’t know whether implementation has begun, because we haven’t received relevant notification.

What I can point out is that this move is coming in answer to strong complaints and demands from Skopje businesses in the tourism sector to the government of FYROM, asking that measures be taken to confront the drastic fall – 40% or more – in visits of Greek tourists to the neighbouring country.

I am not the one to judge whether it is a ‘gesture of good will’ or a last-resort solution.

Mr. Papathanasiou: There was an item in the Turkish press yesterday regarding an assassination attempt, a planned assassination attempt on the Ecumenical Patriarch. Is there relevant information from Greek services on this issue?

Ms. Fryssa: And do you have any comment on this?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I have nothing further to add to what has appeared in the news media. In the coming days, there may be new information, which we will assess, of course.

I would like to say that, first of all, it is positive that the Turkish authorities had success with regard to breaking up extremist organizations, the activities of which are unquestionably extremely dangerous.

Beyond that, we are very carefully – and with great attention – monitoring and assessing every development and every piece of information that concerns the Patriarchate’s fulfilling its mission, as well as the status, the prestige, and above all the security, of the Patriarchate and its Primate.

We are, of course, proceeding to all the necessary actions for confronting negative developments, in implementation of a stance that we have stated repeatedly; a stance that has been declared: that the issue of the Ecumenical Patriarchate is an international issue, but that, at the same time, Greece naturally has a special interest in it.

I will add, in fact, that in implementation of this policy and stance, specific initiatives – of which you are aware – were recently undertaken and carried out by Foreign Minister Ms. Bakoyannis.

Mr. Pollatos: Since the government is proceeding to the necessary actions to confront the problems of the Patriarchate, would you mind clarifying whether it plans, within this framework, to ask the Turkish government to strengthen security measures for Bartholomew? Or, because it is an international issue, are we perhaps waiting for someone else to become sensitized on this issue – the European Union, for example.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I cannot know whether the European Union has been sensitized on this issue. Patriarchate security issues are raised constantly by the Greek government and, first and foremost, by the Patriarchate itself. When security issues are raised, I think that the response should be immediate and effective.

Mr. Pollatos: (off microphone) On this particular issue can you clarify whether …

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: As you know, this news was made public yesterday, and its content, weight and reliability is being assesses. If there is anything I will let you know later today. From what I know, there quite probably will be something.

Ms. Kolliopoulou: I wanted to ask whether the Mediterranean Partnership issues will be discussed by Ms. Bakoyannis and Mr. Kouchner.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Yes. The Mediterranean dimension of European issues is on the agenda, given that the two countries participate actively and are among the avant-garde, I would say, in the strengthening of cooperation among the Mediterranean member states of the European Union. But beyond that they have a well known and great sensitivity to issues and problems that are being confronted by the countries of the Mediterranean as a whole, whether they are EU member states or not.

Ms. Karaviti: I wanted to ask whether the Foreign Ministry has decided precisely what it is going to do in the case of the Fokas brothers at the European Court of Human Rights – that is, whether the Greek public sector will take part in the trial.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: This is a very specialized question that I admit not being up to date on at this moment. But I’ll come back to this and answer you. It’s a delicate issue and I want to give you a precise answer.

Ms. Fryssa: A few days ago, the General Affairs Council – if I’m not mistaken – decided on a European peacekeeping mission to Chad regarding the issue of Darfur. How will Greece participate in this issue, if the decision is taken in the end to send the force?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: I am not aware of a decision having been made regarding a specific contribution and the size and nature of the contribution. I’ll answer you as soon as we have looked into this.

The answer is:

“The Foreign Ministers acknowledged in the conclusions of the Council the destabilising impact that the crisis in Darfur is having on the humanitarian situation and the security situation in neighbouring countries and reiterated their support for the deployment of a multidimensional presence of the United Nations in eastern Chad and in the northeast of the Central African Republic, with the objective of improving the security situation in these areas. Given that the issue is evolving and is still being analyzed, as yet there is no final stance from the Greek side.”

Mr. Pollatos: As it wasn’t made clear yesterday, can you tell us whether the Foreign Ministry agrees with the assessment of Ms. Marcoullis, the new Foreign Minister of Cyprus, that the increase in Mr. Bahceli’s percentage in the Turkish national assembly will be a problem? And how do you see the possibility of Mr. Gul’s candidacy for Turkish President being resubmitted?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The Greek government took an overall position on the manner in which the elections were carried out and its basic results, which – the indications are – lead to the forming of a strong and stable government. And one with broad democratic support. This, in and of itself, was seen as positive.

Beyond that, however, and regarding the first part of your question, it is certain that the strengthening of extremist voices – which have associations with the past, are bound up in the past, that do not see the potential for a better future – is not seen as a positive development.

Regarding your second question, about the candidacy or the statements of Mr. Gul, as they directly concern current domestic developments, and not accomplished facts that one can criticise or comment on, I will avoid making any comment.

Mr. Papathanasiou: A clarification on the issue of the Patriarchate, first. Were there intimations from Ecumenical Patriarchate personnel – made known to Athens – that some such attack was imminent? That’s the first question. Second: I would like your comment on the reference on the Turkish website yesterday – there was a relevant wire report – that there was a violation of Turkish territorial waters.

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: The Navy General Staff has already categorically denied these claims. So I refer you to that categorical denial.

Beyond that, I would like to add that recently there really have been frequent references to unsupportable allegations on the webpage of the Turkish General Staff; references to events or incidents that later prove to be completely untrue and are shown to be false by the Greek side, as happened in this specific case.

Mr. Papathanasiou: Regarding the Patriarchate?

Mr. G. Koumoutsakos: Whether there was earlier information? Allow me not to enter into this discussion. What I can say is that – as was clear from my initial answer – the monitoring of all information regarding the Patriarchate by the Foreign Ministry is very, very serious and thorough. Every time there is information, it has to be evaluated. Because information is of varying levels of reliability, validity and seriousness.

Thank you very much. Have a good summer.