Athens News Agency: News in English, 06-09-26

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] FM addresses SIS Centre in Washington

[01] FM addresses SIS Centre in Washington

Her address focused on the situation prevailing in southeastern Europe and the presentation of Greece's positions on the region's course towards the European Union.

Bakoyannis also referred to relations between Europe and Turkey, noting that enlargement will be the main issue in the EU over the next two or three years. She added that European societies and governments appear to be divided today over Turkey's position, but pointed out that she is optimistic about the final result.

Bakoyannis said that Greece supports the neighbouring country's accession to the EU, but stressed that for this to take place "Ankara must fulfill certain explicit political, economic and institutional criteria."

Commenting on the Balkans, Bakoyannis assessed that following months of negotiating, "unfortunately substantive progress has not been achieved since the Serbs appear ready to accept any agreement with the exception of independence, while the Kosovo Albanians will accept nothing less than independence."

"Greece's policy on this issue is clear. We believe that we must not sacrifice the achievement of a longterm and viable solution on the altar of a predetermined and arbitrary deadline," she said, adding that "we are all aware that international relations are dynamic and not static. The possibility of adjustment is of paramount importance. For this reason, in the event that the sides involved need more time to achieve the best possible results, I believe that it should be given to them. What is most important is for us to begin to prepare Kosovo and Serbia for the day after."

On the question of Serbia, Bakoyannis said that "history has taught us that neither the humiliation of a country nor the absolute victory of another can guarantee peace and stability in the long run. This is even more important in the case of Serbia, one of the most important countries in southeastern Europe. There can be no balance in the Balkans without Serbia and we must do everything possible to discourage the upsurge of extreme nationalistic voices. The teachings from the Weimar Republic remain more timely than ever today."

The foreign minister conceded that "the eyes of the world are turned on other flashpoints:the Middle East, Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan and, always, Iraq", but warned that "however, the Balkans, frequently termed the 'cauldron of history', are not boiling but are simmering and will continue to require our particular attention for some time yet."

Asked about the current level of Greek-U.S. relations and to what degree they have been affected by the support of the dictatorship by the U.S. 40 years ago, Bakoyannis replied that relations between Greece and the United States are very good and that problems now belong to the past. She further noted that "we have all made mistakes in our history and America's position at the time was a mistake."

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