A. PAPAIOANNOU: Good morning. We start holding regular briefings again, taking, of course, all the necessary precautions due to the pandemic. Unfortunately, the pandemic will persist I am afraid, so I am asking for your understanding. At least as long as it lasts, our briefings will continue to be held in this room, so that everyone who wishes to attend will be able to come.
The room is big enough. My intention is, of course, barring the unexpected, for regular briefings to continue to take place every two weeks, on Wednesday at 11:00, so you too can fix your schedule. Of course, and I emphasise that, a relevant announcement will always be made in advance. So, you will be kept informed. And we shall see how that develops.
First of all, today we celebrate the International Greek Language Day. This is where I would like to start. A relevant statement will be issued, as well as a message by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Katsaniotis on this subject.
In fact, there is a relevant instruction that the correspondence with the Embassies here in Athens should be carried out, exceptionally for this week, in Greek, in order to celebrate the Greek language.
I would like to say a few things about Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dendias’ recent trips to London and Rome yesterday and the day before yesterday. And then I will tell you about both the Minister’s and the Alternate Minister’s schedules, as well as those of the Deputy Ministers, and then, as always, I will be at your disposal for any questions.
Just one request for the first round of questions, so that everyone can speak: Please ask one question each. If there is time, you can then ask more questions. This is one thing. Also, since we publish the briefing’s transcript afterwards, please state your name and the medium you represent, if possible.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs was in London the day before yesterday and yesterday he travelled to Rome, where he had a series of meetings. Let me first highlight three points.
In London he met with two Ambassadors who have concurrent accreditation to Greece, but are based outside Greece. This happens quite often, and it happens with the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well. We do not have Embassies in every country of the world. We have Embassies that represent Greece and are accredited to other countries as well.
In particular, in London the Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the Ambassador of the Bahamas - to be precise with the High Commissioner, as he is called -because the Bahamas is a member of the Commonwealth, as well as with the High Commissioner of the Sultanate of Brunei.
In Rome he met with about thirty-five (35) ambassadors in total, most of them -about twenty (20)- from Africa, and eight (8) or nine (9) -I do not remember the exact number at the moment - from Latin America. He met with them in groups. And then he had brief meetings with the Ambassadors of Uzbekistan, Oman and Yemen. It is the first time this has happened. It has not been done before by any Minister -at least as far as I know-, that is, a Minister of Foreign Affairs to brief the ambassadors on our positions, to give them an overall briefing on Greek foreign policy, its priorities and so on. Of course, as several of them said, due to the pandemic they have not been able to visit Greece -although they would like to- or at least come as often as they would like. Some even told us that they have been here only once, when they presented their credentials to the President of the Hellenic Republic.
So, that gave us an opportunity to pick up the thread with them again because these are Embassies, as I said with concurrent accreditation to Greece and follow the developments in Greece. Therefore, it is important to keep in touch with them.
The Minister briefed them on all issues, on our foreign policy priorities and -this is important- on our candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2025-2026 term. Some of these countries, of course, have already pledged in writing to support our election, but it is always important to emphasise this.
Discussions also revolved around several international challenges. We talked about the pandemic, about climate change. In fact, some countries have called for help, I would say, not only to Greece, but also to the European Union in general, in order to address the challenges they face.
For example, Madagascar comes to my mind right now. It was really interesting what was said about the challenges that this country faces and how climate change has actually caused huge subsistence problems for its population.
The Minister talked with them and made mention of the vaccines. If I am not mistaken, Greece has so far donated around seven million vaccines, it has made donations around the world; in the Balkans, in the Middle East, mainly in Africa, either bilaterally or through the COVAX facility. You have seen the relevant statements.
He also touched on his recent visits to African countries as well as on future visits he wishes to make. While meeting with the representatives of Latin American countries, he expressed his desire to visit the region. There is a trip being planned - I will not announce it now because it is still far-off, at the end of March - but we are already working on several things.
He had also previously met with several Foreign Ministers from these countries - both African and Latin American countries - in New York. And, of course, we wish to continue in this vein. Here I have noted down, for example, that the Ambassador of Angola was there. She was particularly pleased with and spoke very warmly about the first visit of a Greek Foreign Minister to Angola, which took place a few weeks ago.
The Minister spoke also with the Ambassador of Oman, which we visited last November, and with the Ambassador of Ghana. In fact, he asked the Ambassador of Ghana “to convey to the Minister of Foreign Affairs our best wishes for her birthday”.
He also met with the Ambassador of Uzbekistan with whom they talked about the upcoming visit to Tashkent, which will take place in a few weeks - I will tell you about that later when I will outline the Minister’s schedule.
The point in common that all these meetings shared was, as you would expect, the commitment to International Law. Especially in the meetings with certain countries, there was special mention made and we talked about it quite extensively. We told everyone about it, but there was also an extensive discussion on the Law of the Sea, the commitment of both Greece and these countries to the International Law of the Sea.
And, of course, we promised that this will continue, these engagements will continue, we do not want them to think that because they are not based in Athens, we do not talk to them.
I believe these contacts were very important.
Secondly, in London the Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the acting Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, given that the British Foreign Secretary, who conveyed her greetings, was in isolation at home as she had tested positive for Covid-19.
Mr. Heaton-Harris who, incidentally, yesterday in a small reshuffle changed position, I do not know if this, the visit I mean, obviously, contributed to his promotion. Let me just stress here that this is the Minister’s third visit to London since last year, the third, let me say, after Brexit. Let me remind you that the last visit of a Minister of Foreign Affairs before the visit of Mr. Dendias in February 2021 was in 2014, if I am not mistaken, and I think that the then British Foreign Secretary, the current Prime Minister, Boris Johnson visited Athens in 2016. This alone demonstrates the importance that both we and the United Kingdom attach to our relationship today.
They discussed, of course, the implementation of the Memorandum that was signed last October, because this constitutes now the framework of our bilateral cooperation.
And beyond that, of course, there was a thorough briefing, mainly from our side, on our priorities. They talked a lot about the Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey, the Cyprus issue. There was quite an extensive discussion, we expressed our views, our known positions. The British were in what they call “listening mode”, they listened very carefully to our positions.
The meeting was held in an excellent atmosphere and this working visit was another stepping stone to further strengthening our relations with the United Kingdom, to say the least.
Now, as for the third point, I would like to tell you that in Rome yesterday quite early in the morning, the Minister met with Ms. Stephanie Williams, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Libya with discussion focusing of course primarily on the internal political developments in Libya.
As you may know, the Libyan Parliament has announced that it will vote for a new Prime Minister tomorrow, at least it will announce a new Prime Minister. There are seven candidates, from what I know at the moment, we will see what happens.
From our side, and I would like to emphasise this, what the Minister said and stressed, is that for us Libya is a country of immediate interest, we cannot afford to remain aloof, we cannot fail to closely follow developments. The stability and prosperity of this country directly affects the security of Greece, but also of Europe as a whole.
In this context, the Minister reiterated our position on the invalidity of the null and void, illegal Turkish-Libyan “memorandum”. Besides, you might have seen that our Chargé d’ Affaires in Tripoli, Mr. Stamatekos, also met with the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, Mr. Aguila Saleh, last Monday, if I am not mistaken. Mr. Saleh reiterated that the House of Representatives is not going to ratify this “Memorandum”.
And then, and I want to underline this too, following the meeting with Ms. Williams in the morning, the Minister held a meeting with the Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Mr. Beasley.
The main issue discussed at the meeting was that there will be a donation from Greece to the World Food Programme, for the reconstruction, the restoration, call it what you like, of the port of Benghazi, which is very important because foodstuffs delivered by the Programme are brought into Libya through this port.
This offer, while being of a humanitarian nature, is still yet another contribution of Greece to the reconstruction of Libya.
That's all. I do not want to dwell too much on what already happened. I would rather tell you in brief about what lies ahead, because there is quite a packed schedule in the days to come.
The Minister will make successive trips to Finland and Norway, on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
On Tuesday, while in Finland, he will meet with his Finnish counterpart, who by the way was in Ankara, as you saw, yesterday.
Among the issues to be discussed, of course, is the deepening of bilateral relations, our cooperation within the European Union, the wider developments in Eastern Europe and all these issues in general.
Then he will travel to Norway. There is a more extensive schedule there. To start with, he will hold a meeting with his counterpart, the Norwegian Foreign Minister. He will also meet with the Minister of Finance; he will also deliver a speech at a Norwegian think tank.
There is a rather packed schedule, which is still being formulated. The Minister will also meet with the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Norwegian Parliament and possibly Members of Parliament.
The Chair of the Norwegian Committee was the former Minister of Foreign Affairs until a few months ago, whom the Minister knows very well. The agenda will be similar. They will possibly talk about EU-Norway relations, but of course Norway is also a NATO ally.
That’s all for Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16. Then, on Thursday 17, he will depart in the afternoon in order to hold talks with his Russian counterpart, Mr. Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Friday, February 18.
Mr. Dendias is travelling to Moscow at the invitation of Mr. Lavrov. Let me remind you that this is the third visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to Russia in the last two years. They have met on several other occasions, as well. Mr. Lavrov also came to Athens last year.
It is a visit that we are preparing. It is particularly important, as you realise. In the course of this visit, during the meeting he will have with Mr. Lavrov, they will discuss bilateral relations in the light of the visit and the discussion the Prime Minister had with the President of the Russian Federation last December.
A bilateral cooperation, which of course covers a wide range of issues concerning economy, trade and culture. Let me remind you that the year 2022 is the Greece-Russia History Year.
They will also discuss, as usual, various developments, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Cyprus issue. Let me also remind you that Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and has a significant role to play, especially in these issues. They will also talk about the developments in Eastern Europe.
And you will allow me to make a brief comment here, something we have repeatedly stated, namely that Greece is a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance, of NATO, and of course it is bound by the decisions taken in these organisations. But we always emphasise to all our interlocutors that maintaining open communication channels and engaging in continuous dialogue with Russia is something we deem necessary.
We believe that Russia is an integral part of Europe's wider security architecture. These issues will be discussed extensively during the meeting.
A few words about the week after next; well, we have a very heavy schedule, as well. On Monday 21 the Minister will travel to Brussels where he will participate in the Foreign Affairs Council. I do not have the agenda in front of me at the moment, but we will announce it in due course.
On Tuesday, he will travel to Paris, where the French Foreign Minister, Mr. Le Drian, is hosting a ministerial conference on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. Bilateral contacts with Ministers from this region are also being scheduled, but we have not finalised them yet. I say “are being scheduled” because of course we do not know until the last minute who will be present and who will not. But of course, we will keep you informed.
Finally, on Wednesday 23rd and Thursday 24th, the Minister will travel to Dakar, Senegal, where, as you know, we have already opened an Embassy. The official opening of the Embassy, of the building of the Greek Embassy will take place.
Let me also remind you that Senegal took over the presidency of the African Union a few days ago. So, it is a very important country for this reason as well. But there is another reason, - that is for those who are interested in football- Senegal also won the African Cup of Nations. But this is only for football fans. Of course, it defeated another very close friend of ours– Egypt.
Well, let me also remind you that our Ambassador to Senegal, Mr. Costopoulos, in addition to being Ambassador there, has also been appointed Greece's Special Envoy for the Sahel region. Therefore, the visit to Senegal and the opening of the Embassy are directly linked with the importance we attach to this wider region and we are closely following developments there.
And then, although, as far as I know, this has not been finalised yet, there is a possibility that the Minister will travel to The Gambia and Cape Verde. Cape Verde, which is perhaps best known for Cesaria Evora to those who are into music or for Daniel Batista to those into football. But, of course, the minister will not talk about either Cesaria Evora or Batista.
He will travel there in the context of strengthening relations with African countries, and that includes our candidacy for the Security Council. Let me also remind you that Cape Verde, a former Portuguese colony, is a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, to which Greece has been an observer since last July.
Another country of this Community recently visited by the Minister is Angola. So, all this is part of a wider picture of diplomatic openings. In other words, it is no coincidence that we visit these countries.
That’s all regarding the Minister’s schedule. It seems to me that we had a lot to say. Now allow me to say a few words about the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Varvitsiotis’ schedule.
Well, tomorrow, Thursday, February 10, the Alternate Minister will accompany the Prime Minister on a working visit to Zagreb, Croatia.
On Saturday the 12th, Alternate Minister Mr. Varvitsiotis will attend and address an event titled "Insularity as a priority for the future of Europe" to be held in Kastellorizo in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe, in collaboration with the Region of the South Aegean.
Finally, on Thursday the 17th, the Alternate Minister will accompany the Prime Minister to the EU-Africa Summit that will take place, if I am not mistaken, in Brussels. This is yet another event that we are particularly interested in due to the participation of African states.
Now, regarding Deputy Minister Mr. Fragogiannis. First, tomorrow he is travelling to Skopje, North Macedonia, where he will have a series of meetings. He will be there tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
Briefly, I would like to mention here that he will first meet with the Minister of Finance, Mr. Fatmir Besimi, tomorrow. He will attend a dinner to be hosted in his honour by the Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs, which will also be attended by the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Investments.
On Friday, still in Skopje, Mr. Fragogiannis will have a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Osmani. He will then have a separate meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister for European Affairs.
He will also meet with the Minister of Economy. He will then hold a separate meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and finally, always on Friday, February 11, he will be received by the Prime Minister, Mr. Dimitar Kovacevski.
Well, that’s all about Mr. Fragogiannis’ visit to North Macedonia. Mr. Fragogiannis will also travel to Oslo, actually a day earlier than the Minister. He will be there on February 14 and 15.
He will hold talks with the Norwegian group Grieg, which is active in shipping and logistics and invests in innovation, and then he will follow part of the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ schedule on Wednesday 16 February.
Now, a few words about Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Katsaniotis’ schedule. Mr. Katsaniotis is currently travelling to France - if I am not mistaken, to Lyon, where he will participate in the Informal Meeting of the EU member states’ Foreign and Health Ministers.
And then he will meet with representatives of the Greek Diaspora and the local governments of Lyon and Marseille.
Next week, from Thursday 17 to 20 February, he will travel to the UK. He will attend events organised by the Greek Diaspora there, in London and Edinburgh.
And finally, on February 24, Mr. Katsaniotis will address an event in Dubai, in the Emirates, which will take place at the EXPO premises, near the Greek pavilion titled “Universal Narrative on Light from Apollo's Birthplace Delos, To A Brighter Future”.
That’s all about the political leadership’s schedule. We’ve had a lot to say here too. And now I would like to conclude my opening remarks - and forgive me for taking too long - with one last issue which concerns me personally.
A few days ago, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dendias, asked me, in addition to my duties as Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to assume, and this will become official in the coming days – I’m jumping ahead here - but since we are holding a briefing, I would like to I announce it today, a relevant Ministerial Decision will be issued, to take on the role of coordinator for the reform of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
For us, surely, who work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all of us, it is something very important so I consider it to be my honour that the Minister asked me to coordinate, I will not implement the reform myself obviously, but I will assume a coordinating role between the various teams here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for carrying out the reform. It is a difficult task that will of course continue for an indefinite period, it is not something that has a beginning or an end. Actually, there is a beginning, but not an end.
I will briefly mention here seven (7) areas, in which we believe that several initiatives should be taken, especially in the context of the reform, so let me refer to them briefly.
The first one is strategic and operational planning. We have already moved forward to establish the Directorate of Strategic and Operational Planning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A strategic plan has already been approved which provides an overview of the main foreign policy priorities. At this point the Operational Plan is being drafted, it will be a four-year plan, which will basically outline in enough detail what actions each section or unit of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whether it is a Directorate in the Ministry, an Embassy or a Consulate, should undertake.
And based on this, an evaluation will follow determining whether the goals were met or not and if not why.
It is very important. I had been involved in this project before I assumed my position as Spokesperson and I had “set up” the team and I consider it to be a very important initiative.
Secondly, the upgrade of the ex Centre for Analysis and Planning, which is now called the Centre for Foreign Policy Planning, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ think tank, but I will not go into much detail on this.
Thirdly, restructuring the Missions Abroad in many respects, financially, location wise, that is where we will have embassies, where we will have Offices for Economic and Commercial Affairs, where we will have Public Diplomacy Offices, and their staff levels. And these are inextricably linked to strategic planning. In some Embassies we need to enhance our diplomatic presence, in others we probably don’t.
Fourthly, human resources development and training.
It is also something that is close to me because I believe that training, not only the initial training of new personnel, but also the constant training of personnel throughout their career, is an essential tool enabling them to perform their duties properly.
Because the training I received when I entered the Diplomatic Academy 24 years ago may have been useful then, but it is not necessarily useful now.
Another very important part is openness, the economic component, in which a lot of things are already being done. And let me say here that economic openness is not just a chapter in itself. Openness affects all the other issues I mentioned. I would like to emphasise this.
Another important chapter is public diplomacy. We need to invest more in the development of public diplomacy and, to conclude, and that is also very important, it is the services to citizens.
In other words, how can our consular missions, taking advantage of new technologies, become friendlier, how can we facilitate the citizens’ access, especially expatriates’, to our services. And that is not limited to our Missions abroad necessarily.
To this end, we are in constant cooperation with other Ministries; starting of course with the Ministry of Digital Governance, the Ministry of Interior, for instance, when it comes to matters pertaining to civil registration.
And we want to move forward, we want to facilitate citizens who are abroad, considering that due to the pandemic, but also the distances involved, access to the Consulates is not always easy.
In conclusion, it is an enormous endeavour; a wise colleague of mine told me that it is a Sisyphean task. I try to be more optimistic though. An enormous endeavour, that will occupy a large part of my time.
This of course will also affect my ability to deal with other issues on an everyday basis. I will always try to be available to everyone, but let me emphasise that I have a great team on my side. My collaborators are all outstanding and of course they are also at your disposal, whenever work duties prevent me from being available.
That's all I wanted to say. Forgive me again for talking too much. We had enough to say. And as always, I am at your disposal, if you have any questions. Please, as I told you, state your name and the medium you represent.
We know each other, but it's not for me. It is for the recording, for the transcript we are making so that, as always, it will be published later on our website.
Well, yes, the floor is yours, Ms. Stamouli and then Ms. Tasouli.
N. STAMOULI: Nektaria Stamouli from ‘Athens News Agency’ and ‘Politico’.
We saw some new Confidence Building Measures submitted by the Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs and I wanted to ask if they were discussed during the meeting with the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, whether he was acting in consultation with Greece and if there are any next steps planned regarding the Cyprus issue. Thank you.
A. PAPAIOANNOU: I thank you. You mean the meeting that Mr. Dendias had with Mr. Kasoulides here in Athens. Of course they were discussed. Of course, Mr. Kasoulides also informed him about the proposals he would submit. There was a thorough briefing on them by Mr. Kasoulides.
We are in full coordination and harmonious cooperation with the Cypriot side. Surely, the initiative belongs to the Cypriot side. But we were kept and still are informed and we support the efforts of the Republic of Cyprus. And, as I tell you, we are in constant contact.
Ms Tasouli, yes.
A. TASOULI: Alexia Tasouli from ‘OPEN’ TV.
I wanted to ask if we have anything new about the exploratory talks with Turkey. That is, if the next round will take place here in Athens on February 24, and if the day before we are expecting Mr. Onal to come for talks here in Athens.
A. PAPAIOANNOU: Thank you very much. Indeed, the next round of exploratory talks, when it takes place, will be held in Athens because it is our turn to host them. As regards the date these talks will take place, there will be, as is customary, a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We always do it in parallel with the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Therefore, whenever I have something new on this, I will let you know.
As for Mr Onal's visit, I do not have anything to announce at the moment.
Mr. Melnik.
G. MELNIK: Good morning. Gennady Melnik, from ‘RIA Novosti’, Russian News Agency. Mr. Papaioannou, on December 31, the Russian Embassy handed over to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs the letter from the Russian Foreign Minister, Mr. Lavrov, with the question on the observance, from Greece’s part, of the OSCE Treaty, which was signed in Istanbul in 1999. Could you tell me what is Greece’s response?
A. PAPAIOANNOU: Look, it's quite simple. You will allow me to say that I am not in the position to comment on internal correspondence between States. So I will leave it there. Thank you very much.
G. MELNIK: But what is the position of Greece if we do not talk about correspondence, will ..
A. PAPAIOANNOU: The position of Greece is the one I mentioned earlier. Pardon me, I have nothing to add.
G. MELNIK: What is the position of Greece?
A. PAPAIOANNOU: It is what I said earlier in my opening remarks. It was perfectly clear.
G. MELNIK: But it was asked as a member of the Organisation, not as a member of the EU or NATO.
A. PAPAIOANNOU: Mr. Melnik, thank you very much for your question. I have already answered; I have nothing else to add. Next question, please.
B. AGROLABOS: Agrolabos from ‘Efimerida ton Syntakton’ newspaper. I would say that my question is supplementary to my colleague's. Two days ago, Mr. Lavrov mentioned the issue of Alexandroupolis in a press conference he gave. And if it was not annoyance, I would say that he expressed a concern, in a negative tone, regarding the use of the port for the transition of US forces and, more generally, for services provided to NATO. Was the issue taken at the level of Ministries, Diplomatic Missions or even Foreign Ministers? And does Mr. Lavrov’s invitation include this issue in the agenda? Thank you.
A. PAPAIOANNOU: As I told you, our relations with Russia are historical. They touch on a wide range of issues. They are excellent, we maintain channels of communication, we talk constantly, we have an honest and constructive dialogue with Russia and in this context we are discussing ways to develop our cooperation further.
I will repeat once again, Greece is a member of the European Union and NATO and has the obligation to fulfil its commitments. At the same time, however, it always seeks and always stresses the need to maintain channels and communication and dialogue with Russia.
You will allow me, I have nothing else to add to this.
Ms Kratsi, please.
CHR. KRATSI: Christina Kratsi, from ALPHA TV.
In the context of what you said, that is, Greece being a member of NATO and the European Union and a country that seeks to maintain open channels of communication with Moscow, will Nikos Dendias also deliver a message to his Russian counterpart in the meeting that they will have on February 18?
A. PAPAIOANNOU: The message that the Minister will deliver is what I said already. There is nothing more, I do not have anything more to add. I am telling you again, we are firm in these positions. And of course the message we are conveying to all -and I should emphasise that - is the need for de-escalation. But this is not a message we are only conveying to the Russian side. It is a message that we convey to everyone.
Mr. Dendias also had a telephone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart, Mr. Kuleba, when he was in Mariupol ten days ago. And what we are emphasising to everyone is the need for de-escalation because any aggravation of the situation will be detrimental to the interests of all.
And also let me emphasise something else here, our particular concern for the Greek community in Ukraine, which numbers about 120,000 Diaspora Greeks who live on both sides of the line of contact in Ukraine. And of course it is really our hope and wish that there will be no aggravation of the situation, as any aggravation will endanger the Greek community. And this was a message conveyed by the Minister when he was in Mariupol.
S. RISTOVSKA: Is there another colleague who wants to ask about the same subject?
A. PAPAIOANNOU: It goes without saying.
S. RISTOVSKA: About Russia I mean. Ok, then. Ristovska from ‘MIA News Agency’.
Can you give us any details about the issues that will be on the agenda tomorrow and the day after tomorrow during Mr. Fragogiannis' visit to Skopje? It will be the economy, I imagine. Anything more specific? Thank you.
A. PAPAIOANNOU: I'm sorry, I do not have any details to give you. Surely Mr. Fragogiannis is responsible for economic diplomacy and our relations with North Macedonia in the economic field are, as you know, highly developed.
Beyond that, unfortunately I am not aware of any more details. I can, of course, ask my colleague in Mr. Fragogiannis’ office and we will be very happy to return to this issue.
A. BARAKAT: I would like to ask whether there is anything official, anything new about the EastMed pipeline that you could tell us. The other thing is a clarification on the Africa Cup of Nations; it was a shame that Egypt lost to Senegal, because it came at the last minute and Egypt has won the Cup seven times or so.
A. PAPAIOANNOU: I will start from the second part. Indeed, Egypt is a great team. I also follow Liverpool FC, so you realise that I am fond of the number 10 of the Egyptian team and of course of the whole team, but as a fan, yes, I feel sorry, because it really was an opportunity for such a talented player to win a cup with his national team.
As for the EastMed pipeline, no, I have nothing to add. As the Minister has repeatedly said, this is not a geostrategic issue. It is an economic and environmental issue. I do not have anything more to add on this. Mr. Michos, please.
P. MICHOS: Good morning, Panagiotis Michos from ‘TO VIMA’ newspaper. Yesterday the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs verbally attacked Greece accusing our country’s management of the refugee-migrant issue.
In the previous days there was a desecration of a World Heritage Site, the Panagia Soumela Monastery. I would like to ask you if, under these circumstances, further exploratory talks can take place, given the fact that the number of overflights in the Aegean has also increased. Thank you very much.
A. PAPAIOANNOU: Mr. Michos, thank you very much for your question. You are unfortunate as I will give you a lengthy answer. Because it seems to me that we need to address certain issues.
You mentioned three issues. The one was the desecration of the monument of the Panagia Soumela Monastery. As you are aware, the day before yesterday we issued a statement expressing our enormous displeasure with the fact that the competent authorities gave permission – I am not the one responsible to ascertain and I do not care which authorities these might be; because, as you know, this complex is closed to the public. And we expressed our displeasure in the statement, as I told you. I have nothing else to add on this.
Regarding the violations of our airspace or the overflights over Greek territory, I want to underline that there is no difference whether these are made by a manned or unmanned aircraft. A violation is a violation and overflights are overflights. Greece's response is the same on both occasions.
We do not care if it is a manned aircraft or a drone. Of course, the increase, the upsurge, I should say, in these overflights and violations is, besides our displeasure, a cause of concern for us, and of course we will protest to the Turkish side as we always do.
And let me emphasise this one more time. The Greek side always responds to any, I repeat, any violation and overflights. By lodging a protest demarche. It does not matter whether it is a regular or an extraordinary one. What matters is that it is made, that it is recorded.
You mentioned the statements – pardon Ms Kratsi, do you want to add anything?
CHR. KRATSI: No, pardon me, but will a protest demarche be filed concerning the Panagia Soumela Monastery, or solely on the overflights?
A. PAPAIOANNOU: I am talking about overflights; I told you that a Statement was issued on the Panagia Soumela Monastery. I do not have anything else to add to this. As you are aware, of course others have been issued as well. Yes, Mr. Michos.
P. MICHOS: I would just like to remind you of the first part of my question, on Mr. Çavuşoğlu’s allegations. Thank you.
A. PAPAIOANNOU: I was getting to that. Don’t worry, I have not forgotten. Allow me. When I was quite young, a very young diplomat, I served under an Ambassador who had also been Director at the Ministry’s Directorate for Turkey, and he used to tell me that “I believe that Greece’s relations with Turkey should be based on the principle of good neighbourly relations”.
“And I say that it is like living in an apartment building where you want to have good relations with your neighbour, but what does this mean? He may also be a friend of yours, but the most important thing is that you need to have good neighbourly relations, meaning that he should respect the rules, respect the condominium bylaws, not play music loudly, not step on to your balcony and claim it is his property and so on”.
Greece, as regards its relationship with Turkey, seeks a good neighbourly relationship, a constructive dialogue always on the basis of international law, which we fully respect. This is our principle and this is what we seek.
Now, I would say that it is at least – and, allow me to say, that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dendias also touched on it briefly yesterday and the Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs referred to the issue as well. I would say that the Turkish officials’ statements are regrettable, to say the least, and there is no point in repeating them.
However, I want to emphasise three points here. The first is that Turkey persists with its attempt to spread disinformation and fake news -not to use another term- against Greece, by means of grossly fabricated news, which of course we reject in their entirety.
Especially when it comes to the migration issue. I do not want to expand on all the other issues today. We will not accept lessons from any country when it comes to respect for International Law, and when that very country is flagrantly violating International Law on this issue. And let me briefly mention here that Turkey has ceased to implement, if it ever did, both the Bilateral Readmission Agreement with Greece and the EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement.
Well, it is an oxymoron, to say the least, when a country which commits flagrant violations, proceeds to instrumentalize the migration issue and pushes migrants to our borders – and we have evidence that it does – is talking about breach of International Law.
When the same country claims that we are the ones violating human rights, it is also something that, to put it very diplomatically, is particularly interesting. The country in which, according to the reputable “Stockholm Centre for Freedom”, at the moment, at least as of November 17, 2021, there are 72 journalists convicted in prison, plus 89 who have been arrested and 167 who are wanted.
Well, this is the country which speaks of human rights; the country which withdrew from the Istanbul Convention on violence against women, the protection of women; the country that you all saw its reaction to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights on the Kavala case.
Well, allow me, this same country, when talking about violations of human rights, it should first take a look at itself. Pardon me, I don’t want to dwell too much time on the subject, but we really need to put some things in order. And as I say and I will keep emphasising this point, Greece is in favour of a constructive dialogue on the basis of international law; and respect for international law. That is what we are asking for, we are not asking for anything unrealistic.
Thank you, Mr. Michos.
TH. BALODIMAS: Balodimas, from ‘RIZOSPASTIS’ newspaper.
Can you tell us whether there are any plans, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defence, for the evacuation of the population in Mariupol in case the situation there gets out of hand?
A. PAPAIOANNOU: Mr Balodimas, on this issue, I have nothing to tell you at the moment, nothing that I am in a position to announce at least. We visited this area, the Minister of Foreign Affairs demonstrated the interest of Greece, of the government, for Diaspora Greeks there, and we listened to them.
And, allow me to highlight something else. Apart from the issue of security, of course, which concerns them, there are other issues that we must take into account and one of them is their living conditions. They live under particularly adverse conditions which are worsening, they have been aggravated by the overall situation that prevails there.
But the other issue is also that of culture and learning, the effort that they make with the meagre means they have to preserve their Greek character, the learning of the Greek language. It was something that impressed me.
Yes, Mr. Argyrakis.
TH. ARGYRAKIS: On the violations by Turkish unmanned aircraft. I see here that according to data from the National Defence General Staff, since the beginning of January there have been specific overflights over specific Greek islands.
In particular, these islands are Kandelioussa, which is located near Nisyros, between Nisyros and Tilos, and recently Astakida, which is located north of Kassos, a little further north of Kassos and Karpathos.
These overflights began early January on a systematic basis. Has the Greek side made a demarche to the Turkish side and, if so, what was their response? Of course we know that usually in these cases they respond in a standard way.
What was their response and what is your assessment of Turkey’s persistence on overflights, especially over Kandelioussa, as well as over Kassos and Karpathos?
A. PAPAIOANNOU: Thank you very much Mr. Argyrakis. Look, as I told you before, it makes no difference to us whether overflights are made by manned or unmanned aircraft. Demarches that are to be made, are made.
In other words, there is always a protest demarche made to the Turkish side for all overflights and for every violation. This is what we have done so far and this is what we will continue to do. There is no differentiation.
TH. ARGYRAKIS: What did the Turkish side say, especially on Kandelioussa and Kassos, as these islands are well inside the Karpathian Sea and the Aegean?
A. PAPAIOANNOU: Pardon me, but I’m not here to speak about what the Turkish side says. I’m explaining what we do.
TH. ARGYRAKIS: Yes, because Turley could lay claims on these islets.
A. PAPAIOANNOU: What Turkey is doing or not it’s not for me to say, I tell you that we are making demarches to protest overflights over Greek territory. It seems quite clear to me.
Mrs. Tsamouri, please.
K. TSAMOURI: Hello, Katerina Tsamouri from STAR TV news program.
We know about the demarche on the overflights from Sunday, but we do not know how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Athens, will react to the desecration of the Panagia Soumela Monastery. We saw the Statement.
Do you intend on doing anything more?
A. PAPAIOANNOU: Look, we are not in the habit of announcing our actions. At the moment we have issued a Statement, from there on you will be duly informed on any future developments, in case there are any. I do not have anything else to add at the moment, sorry.
ST. IOANNIDIS: Stavros Ioannidis from SKAI TV.
Have allied forces, the Americans, requested the use of more facilities, other than Souda, that is, in Alexandroupolis for next stages in order to bring forces in the case of escalation in Ukraine? Thank you.
A. PAPAIOANNOU: I am not aware of any such request and I do not know if it would necessarily have been addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I should remind you that military bases are Greek bases. And the Ministry of National Defence is responsible for them.
TH. ARGYRAKIS: But Alexandroupolis is a port, right? It has nothing to do with a military base.
A. PAPAIOANNOU: It is not within my remit to discuss ports. However, I’m telling you again, I am not aware of any such request.
Thank you so much. We will meet again in two weeks, if all goes well.
Thanks again.
February 9, 2022