JOURNALIST: I would like to return to Hyatt, the hotel where the work of the 4th Ministerial Meeting between Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and FYROM has started, in order to meet the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Katrougalos.Let’s greet him. Good morning, Minister. G. KATROUGALOS Good morning to you and your viewers.JOURNALIST: Could you give us a brief outline of this meeting, and the contacts which are scheduled to take place on a bilateral level between the Ministers, Mr Minister. G. KATROUGALOS Thessaloniki is becoming an important centre of diplomacy. As you may remember, a few days ago, we had here the summit meeting which was attended by our Prime Minister, the Bulgarian Prime Minister, and many other important stakeholders.Today’s meeting is the 4th. Another three meetings took place before, here again in Thessaloniki, because, as we said, we want our 'co-capital' to become a centre for the exercise of our policy in the Balkans. The three previous meetings focused mainly on issues of cooperation between the Interior and Citizen Protection Ministers, such as migration, the tackling of crime, infrastructure, energy, and connectivity, or more precisely, the roadways and energy resources we would like to connect.Today, we chose to put emphasis on economic issues, in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Albania. Obviously, we discussed our cooperation on issues of common political interest, and Stergios Pitsiorlas along with his counterparts from the Ministries of Economy of the three other countries were also with us to discuss economic issues.The main point I would like to make is that we all agree on the notion that in the interest of all countries the Balkans should be approached as a single economic area. Under the circumstances, our country has a leading role to play, as the oldest country of the European Union in this region. Our companies have an important economic presence in all these countries. It is, therefore, in our interest to promote economic cooperation. And as early as the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003, we have, of course, been in favour of the accession of the countries of our region to the European Union, with the self-evident precondition that they will respect the European acquis, the principle of good neighbourly relations and whatever else a country should posses in order to be productive within our Union.JOURNALIST: Before mentioning the individual and the bilateral meetings, I would like you to tell me how much time do you have available, because you have already missed many contacts and work for us. This way, I will try to handle the remaining time better and raise as many questions as possible within these limits, and be consistent towards you.G. KATROUGALOS I will try to give you the time you think you need. But no more than 10 minutes in total.JOURNALIST: Let us now turn to the crucial bilateral contacts. I do not know if it is the first meeting, at least with the coverage we will get of you meeting your fYROM counterpart, and shaking hands with him, since the departure of Mr Kotzias from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs? What does this mean? What phase are we in at the moment, now that we are also awaiting the important decisions of the Parliament of the neighbouring country, and given the present climate in Greece?G. KATROUGALOS I already had a meeting with Nikola Dimitrov yesterday. We had a first informal conversation. In a little while, we will have a more organized bilateral meeting. The two countries have decided to solve a major dispute that could have been solved since the 1990s. It is indeed a remarkable fact that we do not have presently differences to divide us, apart from having to tackle the issue of the name. I think this was done in the best way with the Prespa Agreement. It was, of course, a compromise, like all agreements between states that are not reached after the end of a war and do not entail loss and defeat on one side. Our policy has to continue, even after the resignation of Nikos Kotzias from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which in my opinion was deeply regrettable. The policy we are implementing has not changed and my colleague from the neighbouring country has assured me that they are equally committed. When the process of their own constitutional review is completed, by faithfully implementing whatever has been agreed, then following upon our own ratification, we shall see what happens, or how we can better promote the cooperation issues between our two countries and our two peoples.JOURNALIST: You seem confident that the issue will pass the fYROM Parliament in Skopje. I wonder if this optimism derives from an assessment given to you by your counterpart, or is linked to the fact that things are now better since Gruevski's escape and Hungary’s decision to accede his request for political asylum.G. KATROUGALOS I do not want to comment on the internal affairs of our neighbouring country. Given the fact that the necessary constitutional majority has been gathered in order to start the constitutional revision, we can be reasonably optimistic that this revision will also be completed in a positive way. As for us, we are watching and discussing with the other side, in order to ensure that what is reflected in the constitutional revision echoes exactly the spirit of the Prespa Agreement.JOURNALIST: And what makes you optimistic that there will be eventually a successful outcome and denouement on the Greek side too if the necessary correlations are established. You may think that the climate is a little quieter than it was for example in February or March last year. That said, there is a general involvement and mobilization. I would say that even minors, including under-age pupils, are taking part in these mobilizations. I do not know if you are aware of this internet calling for abstentions and student rallies with spearhead the Macedonian issue. Mainly in schools of Northern Greece, Mr Minister.G. KATROUGALOS Personally, I have no doubt that the Prespes Agreement will also be ratified by our Parliament. As I told you, it is a mutually beneficial agreement that will solve a long 10-year dispute. It will also be of benefit to our country. As for the reactions coming from the public, I respect every opposing opinion, every different view, so long as it is not based on irredentist views. The only people I do not respect, let me be clear, are those who say "to arms, to arms to take over Skopje," because obviously anyone who demands respect of one’s borders from others, must also respect the borders and the general need for peaceful coexistence of other peoples in the region. My personal interpretation is that many of the reactions are not about this deal per se. Instead, they are the echo of eight years of darkness caused by the memoranda, which have wounded the national and personal pride of many people. I think that this opposition to the Prespa Agreement from many of our compatriots is mostly an emotional reaction. I understand why there is this reaction and I am convinced that as time passes, as they study what the agreement really is about, and how it will be implemented, support for it will become wider.JOURNALIST: Let's move on to the other bilateral meeting you will have with your counterpart from Albania. Again, I think this is the first common appearance, at least it is this picture we Greeks will remember, since the murder of our national in Albania. I wonder Minister, whether this handshake also signals something else, perhaps an apology publicly made, or at least officially made, from the Albanian side towards the Greek side.G. KATROUGALOS As we did with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, our goal with Albania is to discuss and resolve any bone of contention remaining between our countries and also promote common interests, such as the demarcation of our maritime zones. Of course, Katsifas' deplorable death has created tensions in our relations with Albania, although we were not responsible for them. We, from the outset, had made it clear that our priorities were to shed abundant light on the case, ensure respect for the rights of our minority in Albania and, of course, on the reciprocal condition of the satisfaction of the first two, to maintain the very good level we had attained in our bilateral relations.So what is happening today is an attempt to go towards this direction, to bring our bilateral relations back to the very good level they had attained thanks to the common efforts of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. Let me remind you that, on 28 October, when Katsifas was killed, a reconciliation event between the two peoples had been planned. With the village of Bularat being full of Greek flags, while we were paying tribute to the dead soldiers of the Albanian front, after an agreement for their burial, which actually sought to confirm the good climate, and the decision of both States to bring our bilateral relations to a good level.We expect to do the same from now on.
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