JOURNALIST: Yesterday evening in Brussels, an extraordinary meeting was held on Ukraine. Greece was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Kourkoulas, and we have him here with us this morning.
Good morning, Mr. Kourkoulas.
D. KOURKOULAS: Good morning.
JOURNALIST: Let’s go to the latest news from Brussels.
D. KOURKOULAS: At the Extraordinary Council of Foreign Ministers, it was agreed to go ahead with sanctions, which include banning visas, freezing financial resources for certain persons who are responsible for the unacceptable violence in Ukraine. What’s also important is that the decision of the 28 also includes certain guidelines regarding the effort towards a solution. While the Council was meeting in Brussels, three Foreign Ministers – those of France, Germany and Poland – were in Kiev. They had successive meetings with the opposition and the President of Ukraine.
JOURNALIST: What message did Europe send to the Ukrainian President?
D. KOURKOULAS: The first message is that the use of such kinds of violence is unacceptable. But we also sent a message to the opposition: that it needs to distance itself from certain groups that are also using violence; groups in which, I would say, extremist ideas are pervasive. Unfortunately, there are also some extremist anti-democratic forces in the opposition; forces that need to be isolated.
The message is also that this is not a contest of strategic influence. The European Union and Russia both have an interest in Ukraine’s stability.
JOURNALIST: Did you give them a deadline for normalizing the situation, or not?
D. KOURKOULAS: The negotiation is a specific programme for exiting the crisis, providing for a change of government, the creation of a jointly accepted government, the revision of the constitution, which is one of the opposition’s demands, and the holding of elections earlier than planned – parliamentary and presidential elections. We will see in the coming hours.
JOURNALIST: Does the Ukrainian President accept this? I think not. He is firm in his position.
D. KOURKOULAS: The negotiations are under way – at least they were under way as of midnight last night. The three Ministers, on behalf of the 28, are still there. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Venizelos, whom I represented at this Council, is in contact with Lady Ashton, who is the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, as well as with other Ministers, because the situation really is critical.
Right now, apart from the violence we are seeing in Kiev, violence is also being used in other Ukrainian cities. Unfortunately, there were very bad developments. I think it is in everyone’s interest – the interest of the European Union and of the other countries neighbouring Ukraine – for there to be stability. As the Presidency, we are continuing the efforts, coordinating with all our partners so that there can be a solution, even if only at the last minute. Unfortunately, things have reached a very bad point.
JOURNALIST: There is a sense that the European union is squaring off against Russia. It that the case? Greece has its interests. Right now, do those interests include a falling out with Russia over Ukraine?
D. KOURKOULAS: Neither Greek nor European interests are in that direction. I refer you to the statement made yesterday by Chancellor Merkel, who talked to Russia. We mustn’t take things towards a revival of the Cold War. There is no reason for that. Russian and European interests include a stable Ukraine, and in the end it is the Ukrainian people who must decide democratically on their relations with the European Union or their relations with the Russian Federation.
JOURNALIST: If the Ukrainian leadership fails to show the necessary composure – so that the bloodshed, the snipers, the clashes stop – what is the next step for the European Union?
D. KOURKOULAS: I don’t even want to entertain the outcome you are suggesting.
JOURNALIST: Is there a plan B? Tell us whether there is, without telling us what it is, of course. Yes or no?
D. KOURKOULAS: The plan the European Union is currently trying to impose and implement is that of exiting the crisis, and I think this is in the interests of both sides. I am not that pessimistic. I think that – even if only at the last minute, with the cooperation of others – an all-out civil war can be avoided; a civil war that would have disastrous consequences for Ukraine, above all, but also for the whole of Europe.
JOURNALIST: Are Greece’s interests in the wider region at risk right now?
D. KOURKOULAS: Any instability in the region is dangerous. And I think this needs to be a lesson for us here in Greece, regarding the great value of political stability. Despite the deep economic and social crisis we are experiencing, Greece remains a pole of stability throughout the region; a region whose southern and eastern portions are very unstable.
February 21, 2014