FM Molyviatis briefs party leaders on foreign policy issues

    "As you all know, the government's constant goal is the creation of terms and conditions conducive to consensus and understanding regarding the country's major foreign policy issues," Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis said on Thursday, after separately meeting with the leaders of PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement), KKE (Communist Party of Greece), SYN (Coaltion of the Left, Movements and Ecology) and LAOS (Popular Orthodox Rally).

    "This does not mean that we are asking for 'carte blanche' from anyone. Foreign policy is the government's responsibility; and it is the government which exercises it. We do believe, however, that exercising foreign policy is more effective and more credible when there is cooperation, as much as possible, among the country's political forces, on major issues of foreign policy," he continued.

   

    During the briefing, main opposition PASOK President George Papandreou expressed particular concern for the decisions to be taken with the upcoming Summit Meeting in December and especially for the beginning of talks regarding Turkey's EU accession. Speaking from PASOK's headquarters, Papandreou once again reiterated his criticism of the government's handling of foreign policy, in comparison with the way the previous PASOK governments dealt with foreign policy, as he noted.Moreover, the former foreign minister placed particular emphasis on the provisions governing any future Turkish EU accession talks, should the bloc's leaders give Ankara the "green light" to proceed with such negotiations.

   

    KKE Secretary General Aleka Papariga expressed concern over increasing tension in the Aegean. She said the issue wasn't so much the number of violations of Greek airspace by Turkey's air force, but the violations from a qualitative aspect. Papariga criticised the PASOK governments for the Treaties of Madrid and Helsinki, as being responsible for Turkish provocation.

    As for FYROM, Papariga emphasised that the main problem is US policy in the Balkans and possible new plans the US may have regarding the region, adding that the argument over the country's name is not the main issue. The main issue is the coexistence with neighbouring peoples and that borders remain unchanged, according to Papariga.

   

    SYN leader Nikos Constantopoulos commented on the meeting he had with Molyviatis, saying that the entire range of current issues was discussed, and expressed his belief that all of the country's political forces should exchange views regarding these issues and find a common ground of understanding, without reaching a dead-end.

    "As for us, we are interested in stability in the Balkans, the capitalisation of all possibilities so that the Greek side's negotiations could lead to the acceptance of what we have been supporting for years now, that is a composite name for FYROM," the SYN leader concluded.

   

    LAOS leader George Karantzaferis, after a 30-minute meeting with Molyviatis, termed the discussion he had with the foreign minister as being "particularly significant" and said that the "road ahead is a difficult one - uphill and full of potholes."

   

   

   

More details on the subscriber's page of APE-MPE | Subscription request form