A. YENNIMATAS: Good morning, everyone. We’ll start with a few words about the schedules of the political leadership, the schedule of international meetings. We’ll
continue with a general statement, and then I will take your questions.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs will meet with the Arab Ambassadors in Athens on Monday, 25 November. On 26 November he will carry out a visit to North Macedonia, where he will meet with the country’s state and political leadership, and on Thursday, 28 November, he will receive his Dutch colleague, Stef Blok, with whom he will discuss bilateral, regional and European issues.
Regarding the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, on 19 November he attended a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council, in Brussels, and on the margins of that meeting he met with the French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Amélie de Montchalin, to whom he voiced Greece's support for the French initiative for setting up an observatory on History teaching in Europe. Yesterday and today he is attending the European People’s Party conference in
Zagreb. On 25 November he will participate in a meeting with the Task Force on the Greek Presidency of the Council of Europe, as Greece will hold the presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe from May to November 2020. On 26 November he will have a courtesy meeting with the Israeli Ambassador, Yossi Amrani, and on the same day he will attend a working luncheon with the Ambassadors of the Visegrad countries. And finally, on 28 November he will have a courtesy meeting with the new Belgian Ambassador, Francoise Gustin.
Now on to the schedule of Deputy Minister Fragogiannis, who, on Friday, 22 November, will meet with the Cuban Ambassador, Ms. Cortina.
On the 26th of the month he will join the delegation, led by the Minister, visiting North Macedonia, and on the 27th he will meet with the head of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and the Qatari Ambassador.
Deputy Minister Diamataris will be in the United States of America and in Canada until 28 November. In the context of his visit, Mr. Diamataris will have meetings with representatives of diaspora organizations, the Church and the academic community, and he will also visit Greek community schools and cultural centres. He will also hold open meetings with the Greek community to discuss issues of concern to them. Mr. Diamataris also participated, on 18 and 19 November, in the Southeast Europe & East Med conference in Washington, and his address was on the topic of Congress’s role in deepening Greek-U.S. bilateral relations. On 30 November he will travel to Istanbul to attend the events being held in honour of the founder of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Andrew the Apostle.
I’ll talk a little bit about the Minister’s recent trip to the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. This visit was carried out in the context of the endeavour to revitalise Greece’s relations with the Arab world – with which our country maintains traditionally close ties of friendship and cooperation – and the prospect for deepening and further development of these relations. During his visit, there was a fruitful exchange of views on regional issues with two strong players in the Gulf
region who have significant political sway and financial capabilities.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs also met with economic leaders in the two countries, with the aim of enhancing our economic relations and attracting investments. In his meetings, he stressed that Greece, which successfully emerged from a long period of economic crisis, is an open economy that welcomes and appreciates foreign investments, and it is well known that both of these countries are currently in a transitional phase as they move towards ending their economies’ dependence on oil and natural gas. So Greece believes there is a great deal of room for further improvement of these economic relations and relations in general, and that the breadth and scope of our economic relations remain to a great extent unexploited.
On Saturday and Sunday the Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in the proceedings of the important Sir Bani Yas Forum in the United Arab Emirates. The
proceedings of this Forum are confidential, precisely to allow the participants to talk openly amongst themselves. The first Greece-Cyprus-United Arab Emirates trilateral meeting was held on 16 November, focusing on issues of security and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and Gulf regions.
Now onto the Western Balkans, where, in the context of the Greek strategy for the Western Balkans, the Greek government intends to undertake specific initiatives in support of the European perspective of the region’s countries, with the aim of consolidating security, enhancing stability and promoting prosperity in the wider region. Compliance with conditionality is certainly a condition for this promotion. More specifically, a quadrilateral meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Albania is being planned for February, in Thessaloniki. And at the beginning of next year, the hosting of a summit of the EU member states with the five Western Balkan countries and Kosovo. The date for that will be set based on the schedules of the other guests.
There is also an invitation from the Minister of Foreign Affairs to his colleagues from North Macedonia and Albania to participate in a working breakfast of EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs, on the margins of the next meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, on 9 December.
Also coming up is the visit of the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs to Skopje on 26 November and to Tirana in the coming time. During these visits, the Minister will discuss the promotion of the European perspective of these neighbouring countries and, of course, our bilateral relations with each country. Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs had a very constructive meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Mr. Dimitrov, on the margins of the NATO Ministerial in Brussels, during which they focused on preparations for the Minister’s upcoming visit to Skopje. As I have already said, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness, Konstantinos Fragogiannis,
will also be participating in this visit.
With regard to the Cyprus issue, as you know, next Monday, 25 November, there will be a trilateral meeting in Berlin between President Anastasiades, Mr. Akinci and the UN Secretary General. It is our hope that this meeting will lead to some expression of shared understanding of the terms of reference that will allow for the reopening of the negotiation process. Unfortunately, multiple illegal actions by Turkey continue to move in exactly the opposite direction, and at this point allow me to mention the Turkish drillship ‘Fatih’, which again entered the Cypriot EEZ, just 12.5 miles from the coast of Cyprus, to carry out new illegal drilling. This clearly condemnable action follows on Turkey’s escalating violations and the provocative wording of statements from Turkish officials, none of which contribute to creating the right climate for reopening fruitful talks on the Cyprus problem. And unfortunately this leaves little room for optimism. Furthermore, the fact that this new illegal action was announced on the day the EU’s framework of targeted measures against Turkey was put into force is indicative of Turkey’s contempt for international legality and the international community’s repeated calls for Turkey to cease these illegal activities.
And now I will take your questions.
JOURNALIST: What is your comment on the statement from the spokesperson for the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which makes accusations of inhuman treatment of refugees and migrants in Greece and calls the Prime Minister’s statements unsubstantiated and unfortunate.
A. YENNIMATAS: As a well-governed and democratic country, Greece does not take lessons from anyone. Rather than admonishing, Turkey would do well to fully
implement the provisions of the EU-Turkey joint statement and stop using refugees as leverage against Greece and Europe.
JOURNALIST: France said, “no,” but now I would say a new approach is being taken to the pre-accession negotiations, with France proposing a new pre-accession process. Do you know what this process might consists of? In other words, will it be a longer association agreement? What will it be? Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Also on this, whether Greece expressed any opinions on this at Tuesday’s meeting of the General Affairs Council.
JOURNALIST: Also on this, whether you were approached to participate in this initiative of the six, headed by Italy.
A. YENNIMATAS: First of all, let me say that the French proposal was submitted very recently, so there was a very preliminary discussion at the recent meeting of the General Affairs Council, where the proposal met, at least from us, with an initially positive reaction. The goal is for the European perspective of the Western Balkan states to be sustained. Anything that moves in this direction and that, at the same time, enhances the European Union’s methodology is something we will certainly consider. But what’s important is to sustain the European vision for these countries and not replace that vision with some kind of disappointment. So this is something we are considering, and we hope it will soon lead to some progress in the desired direction.
JOURNALIST: (off microphone)
A. YENNIMATAS: I mentioned earlier the initiatives the Greek government intends to take. Beyond that, with regard to the Thessaloniki (Agenda), nothing has changed in terms of the orientation of Greek foreign policy, which continues to lend practical support to the European perspectives of these countries. This is something that will enhance prosperity, security and stability in the wider region. So our direction remains the same. Regarding the next question, we are discussing the issue with all of our partners, including the six. Greece is actively involved in all of these initiatives. This was an initial letter that was sent, but other similar statements will follow.
JOURNALIST: Where will the meeting set for early 2020 take place?
A. YENNIMATAS: It will be finalised – probably in Thessaloniki – but we’ll make further, more specific announcements when the details have been finalised.
JOURNALIST: My question is on Mr. Dendias’ visit to Skopje, to North Macedonia. Apart from the country’s European perspective, etc., what else will be on the agenda, given that he will be accompanied by the Deputy Minister? Will economy be on the agenda?
A. YENNIMATAS: The agenda is still being finalised. In any event, you can guess what key issues are of concern to the two sides and constitute the outline of thebilateral agenda. Beyond that, one of the issues that will certainly be discussed is further development of our economic relations, and that’s why Deputy Minister Fragogiannis will be joining the Minister on this visit. I think what the two sides want is for cooperation to move in a positive direction.
JOURNALIST: Mr. Spokesperson, I would like to ask you more specifically about Macedonian products: Starting with the fact that on the day the relevant campaign
was rolled out, with the Prime Minister in attendance, a youth conference opened in Skopje under the title “Macedonia 2025,” and on the eve of Mr. Zaev’s arrival in
Thessaloniki, in the presence of some delegations in our neighbouring country, he said the Macedonian language is the language of our fathers and, as such, we have an obligation to protect it. The Greek position and the other side’s position are a given. So, in the talks on these two issues, and given the provision of a relevant article of the Prespa Agreement, what is the Greek side negotiating, beyond the phrasing of its position? Whether it is negotiating something. And if it isn’t negotiating, what are we discussing?
A. YENNIMATAS: Look, with regard to what you said, the event Mr. Zaev attended, this is something we noted and we proceeded to the appropriate representations to the other side. Beyond that, with regard to commercial names, the Greek side’s initiative is aimed at the government’s express goal of bolstering the identity of products, of our Macedonian products. Beyond that, anything that comes up on this issue is within the purview of the specific Committee provided for by the Prespa Agreement and will be discussed in that framework. I don’t want to make any presumption about the Committee’s work or the issues that will be raised by either side. So let’s let the Committee continue its work, and we will monitor it closely.
JOURNALIST: I want to ask whether the expression of discomfort that we read in the neighbouring country’s media has been conveyed via official channels – North
Macedonia’s discomfort at the fact that our country, the Exporters Association, proposes the slogan “Macedonia the Great,” which bothered our neighbours. Has this been expressed in some official manner by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? Or through leaks to the media?
A. YENNIMATAS: We saw that, too. I have no comment on that, apart from the fact that this initiative from the Greek government is part of the broader planning it announced long ago. In other words, it wasn’t a surprise move.
JOURNALIST: Mr. Spokesperson, ahead of the Berlin meeting on the Cyprus problem, will there be any consultation with Nicosia? And also, has there been any
communication regarding the Secretary General’s special envoy, Ms. Lute, coming to Athens?
A. YENNIMATAS: We are in ongoing coordination with Nicosia and brief each other about every step of this process. And with regard to Ms. Lute, I don't have anything to announce to you at this time.
JOURNALIST: At the latest meeting of the General Affairs Council, did the Finnish Presidency present, together with the 7-year budget, numbers and distribution of
funding? And if so, what is Greece getting? At least in terms of the Presidency’s proposal, which, as far as I know, will go to the European Council.
A. YENNIMATAS: This is a broader debate that is being carried out. Regarding details, allow me get back to you, because the discussion is still under way.
Thank you.
November 21, 2019