E. VENIZELOS: It is a great pleasure to welcome my good friend the Secretary General of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, to the Foreign Ministry. I had the pleasure of welcoming him to the Defence Ministry some years ago, because we have worked together a great deal over the years.
As you know, Greece is an old, trusted and active member of the Alliance, and during our discussion I had the opportunity to reiterate and underscore the fact that Greece will always play this role.
We had the opportunity to talk about the situation that exists in the wider region that concerns us – a region in turmoil. I am referring to the region of the Middle East and North Africa. And we also had the chance to talk about the new strategic concept that governs the Alliance, given that NATO is not merely a classic defence organization, but a security organization that plays an extremely important role in the shaping and functioning of the Euroatlantic space.
We also talked about the upcoming Greek Presidency of the European Union, because cooperation between NATO and the European Union is always a vital issue. The two organizations must coordinate and capitalize on our joint capabilities as much as possible, because this enables us both to become more effective.
Finally, I briefed the Secretary General on the political, economic and social state of affairs in Greece – on the impact of the longstanding crisis, the recession; on the need for us to support our democratic institutions and our social cohesion. I briefed him on the situation that has arisen with the criminal, Nazi organization that is currently being targeted by the Greek justice system.
It is the obligation of all Europeans, it is the obligation of all the member states of NATO and of our societies, to defend the institutions of democracy and the rule of law.
We also talked about the major pending issues of Greek foreign policy, on which the Secretary General is fully up to date, as, from his previous experience as Prime Minister, as well as from his long experience as NATO Secretary General, he has dealt from time to time with aspects of all these issues.
It is a great pleasure to welcome you, and I am certain that the meetings you are going to have here, Mr. Secretary General, will be very beneficial to the Alliance, as well as to our country, as a member of the Alliance.
A. F. Rasmussen: Thank you very much, Minister. Thank you, dear Evangelos, for receiving me here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and thank you for a very fruitful and interesting discussion, which will continue after this press conference.
And I would like to thank you for Greece’s enduring support to NATO, despite the tough economic choices you have to make.
And this is a question for all of us: how to deal with increasing security threats, at a time when our budgets are under pressure. And the best answer to that question is cooperation. Cooperation between NATO members, cooperation with countries outside our Alliance, and cooperation with other international organizations, especially the European Union.
Greece plays a very good role in all these areas. You are taking part in a number of projects with other allies, to provide more capabilities, at a cost we can afford.
This is what we call smart defence. You play a constructive role in building our cooperation with partner countries, especially those in the Middle East and North Africa.
And next year you will take over the European Union’s rotating presidency, at a pivotal moment in the evolution of Europe’s defence capabilities. The European Council meeting on defence in December this year is a real opportunity to create a stronger Europe.
And Greece, as the next EU presidency, will have a major role in turning those commitments into real capabilities. This would be good for Europe, it would be good for Europe’s credibility around the world, and it would be good for NATO.
Because NATO is as strong as each of its members. So the stronger our members are, the stronger we will all be.
And that’s why I hope the European Council will produce real, tangible and lasting results, and I look forward to strong leadership from Greece, as we work to make Europe and NATO stronger.
JOURNALIST: Regarding the NATO enlargement process, how do you see FYROM’s perspective to become a NATO member, taking into account Mr. Gruevski’s well-known position?
A. F. RASMUSSEN: Well, NATO has taken a very clear position already in 2008 at the NATO summit in Bucharest. We stated that we are prepared to extend an invitation to accession negotiations, once a mutually satisfactory solution to the name issue has been found.
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen progress since then, but the decision we took at the Bucharest summit still stands. So once a solution has been found, an invitation can be extended.
JOURNALIST: Secretary General, my question is would you see any NATO involvement in Syria?
A. F. RASMUSSEN: I don't see any further role for NATO. I use the term ‘further role,’ because NATO already plays its part. As you know, we have focused on the defence of our ally, Turkey. We have deployed Patriot missiles to Turkey to ensure effective defence and protection of the Turkish population and Turkish territory. But I don't foresee any further role.
Having said that, I would also like to stress that there is no military solution to the conflict in Syria. To achieve a long-term and sustainable solution, we need a political process and a political settlement.
In that respect, I welcome the joint U.S.-Russia initiative to organise an international conference. I urge both the government and opposition in Syria to participate in that conference, and hopefully pave the way for a long-term, sustainable political solution.
JOURNALIST: Secretary General, today the Libyan Prime Minister was released following his abduction. Can you tell us what your view is on the state of Libya and your opinion on what NATO should or could do to help improve it, if anything?
A. F. RASMUSSEN: First of all, let me stress that I of course welcome that the Prime Minister of Libya has been released. The security situation in the country is a matter of concern.
In May this year the Libyan authorities forwarded a request to NATO, a request for assistance, to help build a security sector, modernized security sector.
Since May we have been exploring that request, and we are now considering how we could possibly assist Libya in the best way, in a way that adds value.
I think we all recognize that Libya needs such assistance, but obviously it’s also important that we coordinate between all actors, between international organizations, coordinate with nations that provide assistance to Libya.
But I think the international community has a responsibility to help the Libyan authorities upon their request.
October 10, 2013