Statements of Deputy Prime Minister and

Foreign Minister Venizelos and NATO

Secretary General Rasmussen following
their meeting

Thursday, 10 October 2013

E. VENIZELOS: It is a great pleasure to welcome my good friend the Secretary General of
NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, to the Foreign Ministry. I had the pleasure of welcoming
him to the Defence Ministry some years ago, because we have worked together a great deal
over the years.

As you know, Greece is an old, trusted and active member of the Alliance, and during our
discussion I had the opportunity to reiterate and underscore the fact that Greece will always
play this role.

We had the opportunity to talk about the situation that exists in the wider region that concerns
us a region in turmoil. I am referring to the region of the Middle East and North Africa.
And we also had the chance to talk about the new strategic concept that governs the Alliance,
given that NATO is not merely a classic defence organization, but a security organization that
plays an extremely important role in the shaping and functioning of the Euroatlantic space.

We also talked about the upcoming Greek Presidency of the European Union, because
cooperation between NATO and the European Union is always a vital issue. The two
organizations must coordinate and capitalize on our joint capabilities as much as possible,
because this enables us both to become more effective.

Finally, I briefed the Secretary General on the political, economic and social state of affairs in
Greece on the impact of the longstanding crisis, the recession; on the need for us to support
our democratic institutions and our social cohesion. I briefed him on the situation that has
arisen with the criminal, Nazi organization that is currently being targeted by the Greek
justice system.

It is the obligation of all Europeans, it is the obligation of all the member states of NATO and
of our societies, to defend the institutions of democracy and the rule of law.

We also talked about the major pending issues of Greek foreign policy, on which the
Secretary General is fully up to date, as, from his previous experience as Prime Minister, as
well as from his long experience as NATO Secretary General, he has dealt from time to time
with aspects of all these issues.

It is a great pleasure to welcome you, and I am certain that the meetings you are going to
have here, Mr. Secretary General, will be very beneficial to the Alliance, as well as to our
country, as a member of the Alliance.

A. F. Rasmussen: Thank you very much, Minister. Thank you, dear Evangelos, for receiving
me here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and thank you for a very fruitful and interesting
discussion, which will continue after this press conference.

And I would like to thank you for Greeces enduring support to NATO, despite the tough
economic choices you have to make.

And this is a question for all of us: how to deal with increasing security threats, at a time
when our budgets are under pressure. And the best answer to that question is cooperation.
Cooperation between NATO members, cooperation with countries outside our Alliance, and
cooperation with other international organizations, especially the European Union.

Greece plays a very good role in all these areas. You are taking part in a number of projects
with other allies, to provide more capabilities, at a cost we can afford.

This is what we call smart defence. You play a constructive role in building our cooperation
with partner countries, especially those in the Middle East and North Africa.

And next year you will take over the European Unions rotating presidency, at a pivotal
moment in the evolution of Europes defence capabilities. The European Council meeting on
defence in December this year is a real opportunity to create a stronger Europe.

And Greece, as the next EU presidency, will have a major role in turning those commitments
into real capabilities. This would be good for Europe, it would be good for Europes
credibility around the world, and it would be good for NATO.
Because NATO is as strong as each of its members. So the stronger our members are, the
stronger we will all be.

And thats why I hope the European Council will produce real, tangible and lasting results,
and I look forward to strong leadership from Greece, as we work to make Europe and NATO
stronger.

JOURNALIST: Regarding the NATO enlargement process, how do you see FYROMs
perspective to become a NATO member, taking into account Mr. Gruevskis well-known
position?

A. F. RASMUSSEN: Well, NATO has taken a very clear position already in 2008 at the
NATO summit in Bucharest. We stated that we are prepared to extend an invitation to
accession negotiations, once a mutually satisfactory solution to the name issue has been
found.

Unfortunately, we havent seen progress since then, but the decision we took at the Bucharest
summit still stands. So once a solution has been found, an invitation can be extended.

JOURNALIST: Secretary General, my question is would you see any NATO involvement in
Syria?

A. F. RASMUSSEN: I don't see any further role for NATO. I use the term further role,
because NATO already plays its part. As you know, we have focused on the defence of our
ally, Turkey. We have deployed Patriot missiles to Turkey to ensure effective defence and
protection of the Turkish population and Turkish territory. But I don't foresee any further
role.

Having said that, I would also like to stress that there is no military solution to the conflict in
Syria. To achieve a long-term and sustainable solution, we need a political process and a
political settlement.

In that respect, I welcome the joint U.S.-Russia initiative to organise an international
conference. I urge both the government and opposition in Syria to participate in that
conference, and hopefully pave the way for a long-term, sustainable political solution.

JOURNALIST: Secretary General, today the Libyan Prime Minister was released following
his abduction. Can you tell us what your view is on the state of Libya and your opinion on
what NATO should or could do to help improve it, if anything?

A. F. RASMUSSEN: First of all, let me stress that I of course welcome that the Prime
Minister of Libya has been released. The security situation in the country is a matter of
concern.

In May this year the Libyan authorities forwarded a request to NATO, a request for
assistance, to help build a security sector, modernized security sector.

Since May we have been exploring that request, and we are now considering how we could
possibly assist Libya in the best way, in a way that adds value.

I think we all recognize that Libya needs such assistance, but obviously its also important
that we coordinate between all actors, between international organizations, coordinate with
nations that provide assistance to Libya.

But I think the international community has a responsibility to help the Libyan authorities
upon their request.