“The liberation of the three Netherlands nationals, who had been detained in Tripoli, was a tense operation to the very last moment.”
· “Essentially, we did not negotiate. We just made it clear that detaining the soldiers was unacceptable and that it had to stop. That the three military personnel had to be released.”
· “We did not consider offering anything in exchange.”
· “Things were different from what we expected. We had agreed that as soon as the aircraft arrived, the military personnel would be at the airport. The Netherlands military personnel arrived, in the end, after hours of waiting at Tripoli airport.”
· “I am glad that we had this opportunity to show that Greece is a trusted partner with good contacts in the region.”
The video of Foreign Minister Droutsas interview on the margins of the extraordinary meeting of the European Council can be viewed at http://nos.nl/artikel/225015-onderhandelingen-over-nederlanders-waren-spannend.html.
March 12, 2011