JOURNALIST: NATO Foreign Ministers will gather in Brussels tomorrow with the conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine at the top of the agenda. George Gerapetritis, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Greece, joins me now in studio. Thank you so much, Minister, for being with me, this morning.
G. GERAPETRITIS: It is a great pleasure Julianna and thank you for the invitation.
JOURNALIST: Let me ask you first about the developments over the weekend in Israel, the successful exchange of hostages for prisoners that have taken place so far. Are you encouraged by these developments when it comes to the trajectory of the conflict there?
G. GERAPETRITIS: We are firmly of the opinion that this humanitarian pause needs to create a positive momentum, a positive dynamic. And that means that we need to extend the humanitarian pause. Because the truth is that, apart from the exchange of hostages and prisoners, there are a lot of things that need to be done. First of all, we need to increase the capacity of humanitarian aid entering into Gaza. We need to increase the entry points. We need to allow for essential facilities to resume operations. And obviously, we need to treat the injured people. So, there are a lot of things that need to be done.
And mostly I think we need an extended humanitarian pause in order to start thinking about the day after. Because the important thing is to foresee the permanent ceasefire and a permanent solution according to the Security Council resolutions. It is important to start seriously discussing the day after.
JOURNALIST: How do you get there? I mean, at this point, that seems very far away. When you listen to Benjamin Netanyahu and what's going on on the Hamas side of the conflict. So how do you get from here to there?
G. GERAPETRITIS: I think it is important that there is a commonality in the mindset of most people and most governments. We really think that the situation triggered by the 7th of October terrorist attacks by Hamas has created an appalling situation. But at this moment, it is not the time for accountability. What matters now is to find a sustainable settlement of the situation. And that is why all governments are now exercising pressure for the extension of the humanitarian pause.
I think it is important to be deliberative. All parties need to be deliberative. I fully understand the right of Israel of self-defence. Self-defence needs to be exercised within International Humanitarian Law. But I think the sustainable solution could only come out through the settlement of the dispute. This is why tomorrow we are working on this project with my NATO colleagues. I think it is very important that there is a critical mass of consensus within NATO concerning the Middle East crisis.
I myself had the opportunity to travel to both Ramallah and Jerusalem a few days ago, and I tried to exercise as much pressure as I could for a humanitarian pause that would be sustainable. The truth is that we have to set aside all the extreme views and to allow for more deliberative approaches on the issue.
JOURNALIST: Many are saying that the US role in the conflict is what will ultimately determine where it goes next.
G. GERAPETRITIS: Secretary Blinken’s good services are invaluable. That is the truth. Because the US is not only the most important and valuable actor in the region, but it is also a voice of reasonable moderation. That is why we have to employ those voices. Secretary Blinken is the person who talks to all sides, which is absolutely essential at this moment. And I think he will be in a position to lead the situation tomorrow over the NATO Summit.
JOURNALIST: Well, let us talk more about the NATO Summit tomorrow. In addition to the conflict in the Middle East, Ukraine, I imagine, is also at the top of the agenda there. What do you think that NATO should do next with regards to its role in the conflict in Ukraine?
G. GERAPETRITIS: The situation is continuing and the truth is that it is not going well. It has been one and a half year of conflict after the Russian aggression against Ukraine. It is a dreadful situation. And again, what I think we should do is to try and be as strong as possible concerning the aid towards Ukraine. We have firmly stood by Ukraine in all these difficult times and we should try and further coordinate our activities in favour of Ukraine. The truth is that, because of all other peripheral regional crises, there is some sort of a shared attention. It makes sense. But we should not underestimate what is happening now in Ukraine. We should firmly stick by our basic notion that revisionism has no place in the contemporary world and we have to apply common standards in all conflicts. Unfortunately, what we see in the contemporary world is that many regions are suffering from aggression and revisionism. We have to apply common standards. We have to be very strong. I think both NATO and the European Union have come out very strong out of all those crises. Because there was obviously a commonality in the perception of things. And I think we should further strengthen our liaisons in order to protect those who are attacked.
JOURNALIST: At the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Europe responded in a very unified way. The solidarity was really prominent and pronounced. Has that solidarity waned at all, given the budgetary pressures that so many European governments are under? And now the conflict in the Middle East is also taking some of the attention away from both the monetary and an intellectual perspective.
G. GERAPETRITIS: That is why we ought to work preventively, I think, through foresight, in order to prevent possible conflicts and aggressions. But once those aggressions are in place we have to stick together. We should not be winded out by the situation. We have to firmly stand by all those who are attacked. The European Union has raised a very significant budget in favour of Ukraine. We meet very regularly with my colleagues from the European Union member states. We travelled in Kyiv a few weeks ago. We expressed our solidarity in every possible manner. But I think the most important thing now is to try and firmly declare that we will be with Ukraine no matter what. At a later stage we should start working on the accountability issue. Because there is a huge issue of accountability in this respect and we need to address this. And I think we need to address it promptly.
JOURNALIST: Are you in favour of Ukraine joining the Alliance?
G. GERAPETRITIS: Absolutely, there is a great momentum. On Wednesday, we are having the kick-off of our joint consultation with Ukraine. I think it is an important step. It provides solidarity, but it is also part of the new security architecture for the Western Alliance. And I think it is important to embrace those states. The same occurs with Sweden. We expect Sweden to become very soon a member of the NATO Alliance. I think, ironically, the ties between the western states have been strengthened because of all these aggressions. And I think it is a great opportunity now to enlarge, but also to become stronger.
JOURNALIST: Sir, we will leave it there. Thank you so much for weighing in and sharing your views with us. Really appreciated and I look forward to covering the NATO Summit tomorrow in Brussels.
G. GERAPETRITIS: Thank you so much Julianna.
November 27, 2023