US embassy cable - 05ATHENS1528

UNCLAS ATHENS 001528 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: GR, TU, PREL, TURKEY 
SUBJECT: GREEK FOREIGN MINISTER REJECTS LINK BETWEEN 
         REFERENDA AND TURKEY'S EU ACCESSION 
 
REF: STATE 99740 
 
1.  (SBU) In advance of Greek FM Molyviatis' June 2 press 
conference with the Foreign Press Association in Athens, 
Ambassador drew on reftel points to suggest to Molyviatis, 
chief of staff Constantinos Rallis that the FM use the 
occasion to emphasize that the French referendum outcome 
should have no impact on the launch of the Turkey-EU 
accession negotiations process.  Rallis said Molyviatis would 
make the case that the two issues -- French referendum and 
Turkish process -- were not connected and shouldn,t be. 
Rallis added that FM Molyviatis conducted a closed door 
briefing of the all-party foreign policy consultative council 
including PASOK and Synapismos (but not KKE) June 1 on 
Turkey-Greece and other issues.  All parties, he said, 
reaffirmed their strong support for a start to EU accession 
talks on October 3 as planned. 
 
2.  (U) In the press event June 2, Molyviatis did use the 
occasion to express Greece's continuing support for Turkey/EU 
despite the outcome of the French and Dutch referenda. 
Excerpts from the transcript follow: 
 
..."I think that obviously the results from France and from 
the Netherlands, which were both negative, are a very 
important event, indeed, which we have to take very 
seriously; all of us have to do this. And we should all try 
to study and properly interpret the messages which are being 
sent to us by the peoples who voted in these two referenda. 
These are messages to their own countries, but also in a 
wider sense to the whole of Europe....I believe that 
enlargement must continue, just as it has been envisaged to 
date. You were talking about two countries which have already 
signed their accession treaties, Romania and Bulgaria, and 
obviously our position here is that we must continue in the 
direction of complete accession of these two countries, and 
we here in Greece are obviously very actively supporting 
Bulgaria and Romania in this procedure of accession." 
 
"But obviously you were also referring to Turkey, I assume, 
with your question. Now, I believe, or actually it's a fact, 
that the movement of Turkey in the direction of Europe was 
decided on by the European Council of the 17th of December. 
In the conclusions of this European Council, we have a 
detailed description and a clear description of the 
conditions, criteria and prerequisites that have to be 
fulfilled by Turkey in its European development, in order for 
it to become a member of the European Union. And it is also 
said in these conclusions that the accession negotiations for 
Turkey shall begin on the 3rd of October.  Nobody has asked 
for an amendment or an overturning of these decisions." 
 
"Thus our position is very clearly that Turkey must continue 
its development in the direction of Europe, just as this is 
described in the conditions and criteria stipulated in the 
decision of the 17th of December of the European Council. 
Now, as to Greece's general position vis-a-vis Turkey and its 
development in the direction of Europe, obviously Greece's 
positions have no influence whatsoever on the referendum 
results in France and the Netherlands." 
RIES