D. AVRAMOPOULOS: I would like to welcome my friend and colleague the Foreign Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Mr. Malki, to the Greek Foreign Ministry.
We had the opportunity during our one-on-one meeting, as well as during the talks that just finished, to look together at bilateral relations, the course of the Middle East peace process, and regional challenges in our immediate neighbourhood and the wider region. We reaffirmed the strong and unbreakable ties between our two peoples, and I reiterated Greece’s longstanding and unswerving position in favor of the creation of an independent and viable Palestinian state that will coexist in peace and security with Israel. We expressed our deep concerns at the ongoing inertia in the peace process.
Mr. Malki briefed me on the situation in the Palestinian territories and the impact of the extension of settlements on the viability of the two-state solution. We share this concern. We believe unswervingly that the present situation is not in the interest of either the Israelis or the Palestinians and their inviolable right to live peacefully in their states. This situation is also jeopardising the security and prosperity of our region.
We also discussed the outlook for the Palestinian request to the UN General Assembly for recognition as a non-member state. Our longstanding position is that the resolution of the Middle East issue is feasible only through negotiations on all the issues of the final status. Based on this, we have stated that we will not recognize changes to the 1967 borders that are not the product of a mutual agreement between the two parties. International legality remains our unswerving guide. I assured Mr. Malki that we will look with great care and sensitivity at the text of the relevant General Assembly resolution when it is submitted, and of course we will take a responsible stance. Our goal is for each step to contribute towards bringing peace closer and to be conducive to the implementation of international law and the resolutions of the UN Security Council.
We also expressed our shared concern at the situation in Syria and the ongoing impasse and bloodshed. Greece is convinced that the solution must come from the Syrian people and satisfy their demand for freedom and democracy, without discrimination. We are utterly opposed to any to any form of foreign intervention – on any pretext – that might result in the conflict’s spreading into the wider region.
Finally, I would like once again to note that Greece remains a good friend of the Palestinian people, and we aspire to play a constructive role in the achievement of a solution at the soonest possible time. Our country remains a stable and stabilizing factor in the wider region, and we want to contribute, through initiatives, to the promotion – as soon as possible – of the UN processes that will put the Palestinian question in the past, enabling the two peoples – Israelis and Palestinians – to live in harmony in an environment of security, peace, cooperation and stability.
I thank my friend and colleague Minister Malki for his visit, and we will continue to keep the lines of communication open. And I ask him to convey to his fellow Palestinians the love, solidarity and friendship of the Greek people.
RIYAD AL-MALKI: Thank you very much. I really am very enthusiastic and happy to be here in this historic place, in the beautiful capital of Athens. I am very pleased to have met with and talked to my dear friend Dimitris Avramopoulos, and also to all the Ministry officials in a very pleasant and constructive climate.
We discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries; historical relations that have not been affected by the passage of time. And I can say that these excellent relations are gradually growing, expanding.
I explained to Minister Avramopoulos the situation in the Palestinian Territories, and I mentioned the Palestinian Authority’s petition for observer status at the UN. This request does not displace the negotiations – nor is it tantamount to the isolation of Israel or anything else. But it is a firm stance of the Palestinian Authority. We believe that this request can correct a longstanding injustice and shift the emphasis in the negotiations to the Israeli side, which, due to the hard stance its has maintained and is maintaining, has caused the delay of all these problems concerning the issue of the negotiations.
I explained to my friend Mr. Avramopoulos our commitment on the issue of the negotiations; for these negotiations to start again, and for us to respect all of the resolutions of the UN and the European Union, and mainly the latest resolutions of 2009 and 2010.
We are convinced that Greece will stand by our side and our right to create an independent Palestinian state, so that together with the Israeli state, these two countries can live in an independent and peaceful manner. We hope to continue these meetings now and in the future. In the near future, we will meet in Cairo, where there will be a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the EU and Arab countries. And so we hope that there, too, we can issue a resolution in favor of the Palestinian issue.
My dear Mr. Minister, I want to thank you for the very good welcome and warm climate we had throughout the meeting of the two sides.
JOURNALIST: A question for both Ministers. We have had a great number of changes in the Middle East these past two years. Whether you think the Palestinian issue is being downgraded or upgraded. And a second question: What do you think Greece’s role might be in the Palestinian petition to the UN General Assembly?
D. AVRAMOPOULOS: First of all, it must be said that the opposite is happening. It hasn’t been downgraded. The vital need to resolve the Palestinian problem has been rendered de facto more important than before.
The developments in the wider region, with everything that came with the Arab Spring, have ushered in a difficult period, a period of political instability and uncertainty. The resolution of the Palestinian issue can function as a catalyst for opening the way to understanding and cooperation in the wider region, thus contributing more to the shaping of the conditions of stability and security needed at this time for there to be progress and a positive outlook. That is why the Palestinian issue remains among the top priorities of Greek foreign policy and European policy. It is among the issues the EU will be looking at in the months to come, at the meetings that have been scheduled in Cairo and, in 15 days time, in Brussels.
I would like to believe that everyone will contribute constructively to support the efforts the UN has been making for decades and to support the principle of two independent states, creating conditions of harmonious coexistence in the region between an independent Palestinian state and a secure environment for Israel.
As for the second part of your question, Greece, as I have already said, is a stable and stabilizing factor. We have excellent relations and traditional friendship with all of the peoples in the region, and our policy is always aimed at contributing to the resolution of problems. So, we are at the disposal of the international efforts, the international initiative, and of our friends in the region to help achieve substantial rapprochement and understanding at the soonest possible time. As I told my friend and colleague Mr. Malki today, we could offer our services in this effort, based on the principles I described.
We are perhaps the only people in the Eastern Mediterranean region who have been talking with equally historical peoples for thousands of years in an environment of mutual understanding and mutual cultural respect. Now, with the new challenges appearing on the horizon, we have come even closer to each other. We can use this value – this bequest of history – and put it at the service of the comprehensive effort to find solutions to the major problems that have unfortunately been plaguing the region for many decades.
RIYAD AL-MALKI: What I would like to say concerns the first part of Foreign Minister Avramopoulos’s response. It is that I agree completely with him as regards the developments and what we call the Arab Spring. But I just want to add one phrase: what I want to say is that what the peoples of the Arab Spring are seeking, what they are endeavouring to obtain – we will accept nothing less than that in Palestine. That is, if these people want self-determination, independence and freedom, no Palestinian will accept anything less than these rights. That is why we believe that all the peoples of the Arab Spring will contribute so that the Palestinian people can gain and enjoy all the rights they deserve. All these struggles of the Arab peoples underscore the importance of the Palestinian issue and the need to resolve this issue. And thus, based on this, I agree fully with Mr. Avramopoulos’s answer to your question. Thank you.
November 8, 2012