Statements by Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Katrougalos at the conclusion of his meeting with his Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides (Nicosia, 19 March 2019)

G. KATROUGALOS: Dear Minister, my dear friend Nikos, thank you for the warm welcome, for your kind words. The first visit carried out by the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs is always to Cyprus; that’s because we share a common outlook, because we perceive national interests in the same way, and because, in fact, this is not an instance of bilateral contact, since we all feel we are on the same side, defending the same values, the same interests.
And as Nikos stated with regard to the issues we examined, the Cyprus issue couldn’t be but the first issue, which we perceive as an issue of violation of International Law, an issue that must be approached from that dimension, of occupation of the territory of a sovereign country. These are the issues that we wish to emphatically broach during talks with Turkey, precisely to build upon the progress made at Crans-Montana.
During this week, I am going to visit Turkey, where I will discuss the Cyprus issue with my Turkish counterpart through the prism I mentioned earlier, attempting also to look into the intentions of the other side. Because we would like - both Cyprus and Greece - the Cyprus issue to have been resolved “yesterday”. We feel that not only there is delay, but a 40-year delay with regard to resolution of the issue. We will attempt to resolve it, to the extent we are able to, based on the decisions of the UN and International Law.
We also discussed the other significant initiatives that the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Cyprus have taken in the recent past. These trilateral cooperation schemes, which we hope to expand on with the presence also of other powers, are precisely a concrete example of the upgrading of the diplomatic capabilities of Greece and Cyprus. Without turning against any other party, we are bolstering our interests in the region in the best possible way, not only on the level of defending our economic interests, but above all defending our geostrategic and geopolitical interests.
Finally, we also discussed Europe. The Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Cyprus always defend the values of the European idea, open societies, and democratic principles. And at a time when these principles are put into question even within Europe, it is always helpful to discuss matters, so as to see how we will be able to defend them, much more so since many developments on a European level are also related to our national issues. For example, we discussed why Turkey’s european perspective should not be cut short, with the understood condition of respect of International Law, good neighbourly relations, as well as the fact that it is indeed in the interest of the European Union and Turkey, as well as in the interest of our two countries, for the latter’s European path to remain open, on the conditions I mentioned.
Therefore, what’s obvious and self-evident was essentially reconfirmed: the fraternal relations between the two countries, the full common outlook with regard to interests, and forging of practices and strategy.

JOURNALIST: Is the fact that there’s a non-binding decision by the European Parliament to suspend negotiations for Turkey's accession to the European Union considered to lead to additional tension in Greek-Turkish relations?

G. KATROUGALOS: As I mentioned earlier, there’s full convergence of views on this issue. We feel that it is in the interest of the Turkish people, it is in the interest of our two countries, and it is in the interest of the European Union, for an anti-European, hostile Turkey not to exist at the Union’s Eastern border but rather, on the contrary, for its European path to remain open, on the condition, obviously, that the existing acquis of European legal culture will be fully respected on its part, on all levels.
And, additionally, we are not against the pointing out of violations of the rule of Law, violations of Democracy, we are against the cultivation of a climate of “islamophobia” by numerous sides, which goes against the practice of open societies that Europe has always promoted, that goes against European legal culture itself, which has its own values and also includes the respect of others.
Therefore, I believe that we will continue the same practice which, in the end, will benefit our interests without harming the interests of anybody else.

JOURNALIST: Two questions: the first has to do with the Cyprus issue and the Minister's visit to Turkey. What are the specific messages which will be sent, given that we find ourselves in a period of mounting tension on the part of Turkey? And the second: there’s an escalation of provocations, of questioning of sovereignty in the Aegean and the EEZ on the part of Turkey. Daily episodes, daily verbal threats...

G. KATROUGALOS: My message will be specific and will pertain both to substance and process. I already referred to the process at the end of my speech. We look for progress in the Cyprus issue. We don’t wish for a resolution tomorrow. We would like for it to have been resolved yesterday. And for this to happen, we want an honest discussion to begin, and to have specific answers from the other side as regards Greece, as regards the international dimension of the Cyprus issue. Therefore, I will ask for specific views from the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, because the other side has not yet laid out its cards with regard to how it envisions the substitution of the unacceptable system of guarantees by a mechanism in which the colonial characteristics, as well as the characteristics that go against International Law of the previous legal status, are not repeated. In any case, a preliminary discussion must begin, initially informal, so that there’s progress which will permit us, when substantive negotiations begin, to take advantage of the progress that has been made in recent negotiations, especially at Crans-Montana.
With regard to tensions, I would like to tell you that one of the main goals of the Prime Minister's visit to Ankara and the discussion he had with President Erdoğan was aimed at exactly that, at reducing tension in the Aegean. We have truly seen an effort to reduce tension recently, though with no lack of violations. The second part of my discussion with the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs will precisely involve the establishment of a roadmap to reduce tensions which, obviously, do not benefit either side.

JOURNALIST: Tomorrow, there is a trilateral meeting, which will become quadrilateral with the presence of the U.S. And it is estimated that a qualitative difference exists in the progress of these trilateral meetings with the presence of the U.S. What importance do you place on this, and in what aspects of collaboration do you expect for results to exist?

G. KATROUGALOS: As my friend Nikos already mentioned, we have made significant progress with regard to strengthening the diplomatic capability and standing of the two countries, thanks to the development of those trilateral forms of cooperation. And my colleague also had significant discussions, that were qualitatively much different and deeper than in the past, with our American counterparts in Washington last year; and I had the opportunity to participate in the inaugural Strategic Dialogue between Greece and the U.S. What has been acknowledged in these discussions is what Nikos also said at the end of his previous response; that our countries are not just pillars of democracy and stability, we are exporters of stability within a triangle of instability whose one vertex is the Eastern Mediterranean, the other is Libya, and the third of course lies north in the Ukraine. The Hellenic Republic therefore aims, as does the Republic of Cyprus, to contribute to the region's stabilisation. The economic diplomacy that we exercise serves this broader geostrategic goal, and the participation of the US Department of State in this trilateral meeting constitutes, at the same time, confirmation of this new upgraded geostrategic role of Cyprus and Greece, as well as guarantee that the exploitation of resources the Republic of Cyprus is entitled to draw from its EEZ possesses will be honoured, because this is what International Law dictates.

JOURNALIST: There was an announcement this morning by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which characterised the response of Athens, following the statements by Turkey's President Erdogan in İzmir regarding “infidels”, as completely negative. Any comment?

G. KATROUGALOS: Listen, our statement pointed out, something which is undeniable by any bona fide observer, that external policy must not be instrumentalised for reasons of domestic consumption, and that there should be full respect of the history and dignity of neighbouring peoples. That was our statement. These things are unquestionable and generally accepted, not simply by International Law, but by the legal and political culture that exists in Europe. I don’t wish to comment on the statements by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs because, as I told you, our goal is not to escalate tension, but to de-escalate it. And let me clarify something, because the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs states this at its conclusion, that when we declare that our objective is to improve relations, we ought to corroborate this in practice.
Thank you very much.