01 April 2005

Zoellick, Greek Foreign Minister Discuss Balkans, Cyprus
Deputy secretary of state says U.S. wants to support EU role in Balkans

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick and Greek Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis met in Athens, Greece, March 31 to discuss the Balkans, Cyprus and the spread of democracy, they told journalists after their meeting.

Molyviatis said he also briefed Zoellick on Greek relations with Turkey.

Zoellick said he had come to Greece “to listen and to learn,” as at other stops on his 14-nation European tour. Regarding the Balkans, he said he and Molyviatis had talked about the role the European Union has in the international process set up for dealing with all the Balkan countries, “and how the U.S. wants to be supportive of that process.”

Zoellick also noted a proposal Molyviatis made during his March 24 meeting in Washington with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for Greece to hold “an event” to try to help share its experience with democratizing countries.

By the time Zoellick concludes his March 28-April 5 trip, he will have visited Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain.

Following is the State Department transcript:

(begin transcript)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
(Athens, Greece)
March 31, 2005

PRESS BRIEFING

ROBERT B. ZOELLICK, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE PRESS BRIEFING WITH FOREIGN MINISTER PETROS MOLYVIATIS, AFTER THEIR MEETING

March 31, 2005
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Athens, Greece

FOREIGN MINISTER MOLYVIATIS: If you don't mind, I will speak in Greek and it will be translated for you. (In Greek): I was especially pleased today to receive U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Zoellick. We had a very useful, interesting, constructive, and, I would say, also pleasant meeting. A meeting that I regard as a follow up to the successful visit I paid to the U.S. a few days ago.

During our talks we had the opportunity to corroborate the excellent level of our bilateral relations, and we once more expressed our decision to boost further and upgrade our bilateral relations, and develop strategic cooperation in the broader region.

We discussed the progress that we are very pleased to see being made in the spread of democracy, the concept of democracy, in many areas of our region. There are encouraging indications of even greater progress of democracy, which is a development we are determined to support, without this support taking on the form of intervention in the domestic affairs of another country, much less, the form of imposing democracy from the outside. It is our duty, however, considering that our democracies and countries are founded on democratic principles, and the democratic system, to support and encourage democracy wherever it emerges.

We also discussed the Balkans. I also expounded our views on Cyprus to Mr. Zoellick. Our common desire -- I think by now of all parties concerned -- is to resume the process with the goal being the island's reunification through negotiations on the basis of the Annan Plan. Our conviction is that this new effort should not fail, and that is why we all have to take the appropriate measures in order for the new effort to start with as many guarantees as possible for a successful outcome.

Finally, I briefed our guest regarding the course of our relations with neighboring Turkey.

Thank you very much.

DEPUTY SECRETARY ZOELLICK: Well, thank you very much, Minister. And I want to open by thanking the Minister and Prime Minister for being so gracious as to share so much time with me this morning. The Minister just came back, as you know, from a very successful visit he had in the United States. I think we learned a great deal from those discussions with my boss, Secretary [of State Condoleezza] Rice, and others. And he was kind enough again to have a tour of the horizon on a number of topics, as he mentioned, because my primary purpose on this visit was to listen and to learn. President Bush and Secretary Rice came to Europe earlier this year to start the President's second term by outlining some of our agenda, to discuss it with our European partners. The visit that I'm making really gives me a chance to get into greater depth on a bilateral level and gain the perspectives and insights of our close partners. And we feel particularly warm relations with Greece and I want to add a compliment -- I think the world saw a fantastic opportunity that Greece showed to the rest of the world with the Olympics last year, which I think were recognized as a great success. So I really appreciate the opportunity to discuss some of the strategic context for the issues that the Minister outlined.

QUESTION FROM ERT TELEVISION: Is there any special message from the administration to ... [inaudible] ... or what does this visit have to do with?

DEPUTY SECRETARY ZOELLICK: As I mentioned, I really more wanted to come to listen. For example, I had an excellent conversation with the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister about the Balkans. The Prime Minister's made a lot of trips in the region; he was outlining some of his insights as we try to face these challenges together. There's an international process set up dealing with all the Balkan countries, but we talked about the particular role that the European Union has in this, and some of the challenges of that and how the U.S. wants to be supportive of that process. We talked about -- in the broader Middle East context -- how I was very delighted that one of the points that the Minister suggested to Secretary Rice is that Greece as the home of democracy would be willing to possibly hold an event to try to help share its experience with some of the countries in the region as we see the winds of change to the broader Middle East, something that I was working with on the economic side and obviously has the economic and political dimensions. So really, this was an opportunity for me to try to gain some additional insights and bring back some things as we start this second term, and Greece is a good strategic partner so we appreciate that opportunity.

QUESTION FROM MEGA TV: ...[Inaudible] ... Signing of the Ankara Protocol, what is this about?...

FOREIGN MINISTER MOLYVIATIS (in Greek): What occurred was an exchange of letters between the EU Commission and the Turkish Government. This exchange of letters stands in for the initialing of the Protocol. It is the first step. Certainly, more things must follow, and naturally the signing. Also, the implementation of the Agreement. When one signs an international agreement, one signs it in order to implement it. But what has happened so far is simply the first step in this procedure.

Thank you very much.

(end transcript)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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