US embassy cable - 05ATHENS554

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