Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05ATHENS554
2005-02-25 15:37:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Athens
Cable title:  

AMBASSADOR'S FEBRUARY 24 CALL ON DFM VALYNAKIS:

Tags:  PGOV PREL GR MK TU AMB 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000554 

SIPDIS


FOR EUR/SE, EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL GR MK TU AMB
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FEBRUARY 24 CALL ON DFM VALYNAKIS:
MACEDONIA NAME, TURKEY, CYPRUS


Classified By: AMB. CHARLES P. RIES FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L ATHENS 000554

SIPDIS


FOR EUR/SE, EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/25/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL GR MK TU AMB
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR'S FEBRUARY 24 CALL ON DFM VALYNAKIS:
MACEDONIA NAME, TURKEY, CYPRUS


Classified By: AMB. CHARLES P. RIES FOR REASONS 1.4(B) AND (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: At a February 25 introductory meeting with
Ambassador, DFM Valynakis said Greece "meant business" in
finding a solution to the Macedonia name issue. However,
Greek redlines were that the term "Republika Makedonija" had
to be modified by a third word and had to remain in Slavic.
Saying the time was right to solve this problem, he asked the
U.S. to convince the Macedonians to be flexible about what he
described as a reasonable Greek compromise. On
Greece-Turkish relations, the DFM reiterated Greek support
for Turkey's EU vocation, but argued that Turkey still
suffered from the "old mentality" of viewing Greece as a
principal threat. Valynakis said he was buoyed by the 7
million crossings since the Green Line opened in Cyprus and
that he believed the Turks were ready to discuss Greek
Cypriot concerns on the Annan Plan. END SUMMARY.

Macedonia Name: Must Have "Third Word" and Remain in Slavic


2. (C) At an February 25 meeting with Ambassador, DFM
Valynakis said that Greece was "approaching the endgame"
regarding its negotiations with Macedonia on the name issue.
He stated that progress had been made, that the GoG "meant
business" in finding a solution, and that Greece had no
interest in using this issue to block Macedonia's EU
accession progress. However, he reiterated Greek redlines:
there had to be a third word that qualified the term
"Republika Makedonija" and the term had to remain in its
original Slavic. Valynakis said such a third word qualifier
might be "Nova" or "Skopje" that could come respectively
before or after the Slavic name, and that Greece would never
accept the English term, "Republic of Macedonia." He argued
that Greece had shown flexibility, since for years it had
refused to even discuss anything that used the term
"Republika Makedonija." Now, he maintained, it was
Macedonia's turn to show some flexibility.


3. (C) Valynakis summed up this Greek position as a
reasonable compromise that needed a "final push" to be
accepted. In this regard, he asked if the U.S. could

convince the Macedonians not to hold out for their maximalist
"Republic of Macedonia" position. The Ambassador said the
USG shares Greece's interest in resolving this issue, but
asked if the Greek proposal would not require a change of
Macedonia's constitution - an extremely difficult prospect,
at best. Valynakis answered that these negotiations cover
the international usage of the name, implying that this would
not necessarily require such a change. The DFM stressed that
Greece had to take into account the interests of its 2
million Greek Macedonians and added that the GoG was now
willing to share the name, but "nobody should have a monopoly
on it."


4. (C) Asked the current status of the negotiations,
Valynakis said that both sides were expecting a new proposal
from UN Special Negotiator Nimetz at their next meeting in
mid-March. Valynakis seemed a bit concerned that Nimetz
might introduce a proposal to the UNSC before fully briefing
the two sides and getting their agreement, or that the
Macedonians might want to change the framework of the
negotiations. The Ambassador answered that this was highly
unlikely. On the whole, Valynakis concluded that the time
was right for a solution ("the moment of truth has arrived"),
pointing to the upcoming avis by the European Commission on
Macedonia's EU application. He said he made this point to
Macedonian President Crvenkovski during a meeting in Zagreb
last week.

Greece-Turkey


5. (C) Valynakis said that Greece fully supported Turkey's
EU vocation because it wanted to change the still-hostile
mentality of its large eastern neighbor. Just today,
visiting former Turkish FM Yassar Yakis, heading a
parliamentary delegation, had met FM Molyviatis and raised
the casus belli declaration of the Turkish parliament some
years back, saying Turkey felt it had to react to a potential
decision by Greece to extend its territorial waters to 12
nautical miles. Valynakis said Yakis' comments surprised the
Greeks because this sort of mentality of regarding Greece as
a principal threat belonged to the past. The DFM was hopeful
that as Turkey began its EU accession negotiations it would
stop viewing Greece in this way and would commit itself to
good neighborly relations. He added that the Turks no longer
place Greece on its list of enemies in official doctrine, yet


asked why then does Turkey still plan military operations
that are aggressively directed against Greece. As examples,
he pointed to Turkish military exercises that deal with the
invasion and occupation of the island of Lesvos and the
near-daily violations of Greek airspace and FIR regulations.


6. (C) Asked about the on-going Aegean talks with Turkey,
Valynakis said that the GoG had purposely kept the same
negotiators from the previous government in order not to lose
time. However, he admitted that a solution is "not for
tomorrow." Valynakis criticized the proposals put forward
under former FM Papandreou, saying they were mainly for show
and did not deal with the substance of the differences
between the two sides.

Cyprus


7. (C) Valynakis said he was buoyed by the nearly 7 million
crossings that had been recorded since the Green Line opened.
He believed that the Turks are ready to discuss some of the
concerns the Greek Cypriots have regarding the Annan Plan and
said that GoG policy remains the reunification of the island.
One of the biggest Greek Cypriot concerns, he maintained,
was that security could not be guaranteed by a country
(Turkey) which occupies the island. Asked why the Greek
Cypriots are not more specific in what they want changed,
Valynakis responded that the Greek Cypriots have been clear
in not wanting an up-or-down outcome and or an imposed
agreement that does not have the consent of both sides.
Valynakis appeared optimistic about an eventual solution,
saying Greek and Turkish Cypriots get along and that there is
no violence or risk of war.


8. (C) Ambassador asked the GoG to weigh in with Greek
Cypriots to moderate their rhetoric over an alleged, recent
transfer of sophisticated U.S. military equipment from Turkey
to north Cyprus. He added that preliminary indications were
that this was a routine shipment that did not appear to be in
violation of our arms control legislation regarding transfers
to Cyprus. If that proved not to be the case, we would of
course be obliged under U.S. law to inform the Turks that
they were in violation. In the meantime, Ambassador said it
was not helpful for the Cypriot Government to react without
knowing the facts. Valynakis said he would look into the
matter.


9. (C) COMMENT: Valynakis spent a large part of this
meeting talking about the Macedonia name issue and giving the
impression that this longtime irritant can be solved in the
foreseeable future. Spurred on by our decision to recognize
Macedonia's constitutional name and Macedonia's pending EU
application, the Greeks have been more active in seeking a
compromise. A breakthrough would certainly be welcomed by
the internatinoal community. However, it is not likely that
a compromise -- even one along the lines suggested by
Valynakis -- would win big points for the Karamanlis
government at home. END COMMENT.
RIES