What impact will the Trump election have on the Greek issues?
We can only make certain estimations based on his pre-election statements. It is clear that Donald Trump during his stint as a President will want to improve the relations with Russia. This means that in the northern part of NAT the threat from Russia to Northern European countries will be downgraded, which concerns Greece. Mr. Trump has clearly demonstrated that he wants to upgrade the Mediterranean region, reaching an understanding with Russia, to terminate the crisis in Syria, facing jointly the Islamic State and reinstating smoothness. I consider this a positive step. On one hand Greece is geopolitically enhanced as a stability pole. Greece, in the north with Bulgaria and Romania, and in the South with Jordan, Egypt, Israel, and Cyprus , will play a very important role.
At the same time, he has stressed the necessity to shift the energy centre towards the Mediterranean basin. We will be given the opportunity to, first of all, exploit our pubic wealth (something we also aspire to) and this will trigger the reduction of tension in the Aegean. The cooperation of Turkey with fundamentalist teams is something, which I believe, is embarrassing it.
The restoration in Syria, will give the possibility for a definite solution to the refugee issue, and return them to their homes. And this will also be a positive outcome for us.
Will he continue Barack Obama’s supportive stance towards Greece or will he abstain from it?
As far as the debt issue is concerned, the American position is not affeced by the change of Presidency. The support the Obama Presidency provided us with was quite clear, and as a matter of fact it played a role of utmost importance in the negotiations, especially in July 2015, with the personal intervention of Barack Obama, Jack Lew and Hollande, in the need to intervene in the debt matters. I believe that this policy will continue. Greece and the United States of America are moving on from a yearly agreement to a multiannual one on military cooperation and this will deepen the relations at other levels.
As far as the economy issue is concerned, the important thing is that Trump was never close to the great market players , as George Sorros, as opposed to Clinton. This will allow us to look deep into what happened in 2009 and how George Papandreou, in cooperation with these great players led Greece to this huge crisis.
The second thing is that as far as economy is concerned, the geopolitical position and the stability of Greece is of utter importance. It is my personal belief that Trump will pursue this.
What are you expecting from Mr. Obama’s visit? What are your hopes and what are your fears?
There are no fears. The visit is extremely important, because Mr. Obama (as Greeks we should stress this), has been very friendly towards our country, with unprecedented interventions, no less, as opposed to other US Presidents. His presence here, and the speech he will deliver – in the land which gave birth to Democracy – demonstrate the position of Greece in the wider region and the importance of our country in Europe and NATO. His speech in the programmed place itself, highlights exactly this: It aims to send a message not only to the Greek people but to the whole world. And this will help our country a lot.
Have you found an alternative about the special wages grid?
The battle on the special wages regime has been given and has been won. I want to reassure all members of the Armed Forces and retired Officers that they will not undergo any further reductions in their wages. We are rationalising the system and we will be able to reduce the expenditure unfairly burdening the Armed Forces. We will have a reorganization of the Forces.
Do you still have on your hands the… blood of Nikos Fylis?
No, I have not “executed’ anyone, especially Mr. Fylis, We had a political disagreement, because I believed that under no circumstances should we have a conflict with the Church. We, the Independent Hellenes stick to our guns as far as religion and the relations between Orthodoxy and the state are concerned. I believe that Mr. Fylis is a capable Minister of Education. This was the first year that schools operated from the first day. However, I publicly disagreed with him on his insisting to collide with the Church.
Did you want him in the government or not?
This was a matter to be handled by the Prime Minister not me.
Despite this, did you bring up the matter to the PM Alexis Tsipras?
No, I didn’t. I brought the issue up before Mr. Fylis and before the Church, and I consider the solution we came up with was the best possible one. The Church must harmonically co-exist with the state without any conflicts, at times when the Greek people want to have national reconciliation.
How far can this government go with the implementation of the MoU? Did it by any chance lose the battle with corruption following the decision reached by the State Council?
Corruption was stricken. For the first time we will have channels paying for public frequencies. The conflict of interests was stricken by this government and so was corruption. This was a great victory on part of the government and one of the reasons why I stand by Alexis Tsipras and will see the four-year stint through, when the finances have improved.
What about the reorganization of the Armed Forces?
There are many changes being processed by the Staffs, soon to be announced. We have initiated the exploitation of the Armed Forces assets, which amount to 34 billion Euro, including assets and antiquated military facilities. They will be leased for 100 years and will render 5% of their objective value to the field of defence. In the days to come we will have the first five e bid competitions for the leasing of these facilities.
Mr. Erdogan’s statements are quite provocative during such times of political instability in the neighbouring country. Are you fearing a “heated incident”?
Apart from the political instability, there is also a defence instability. A great number of the Turkish Air Force pilots has been dismissed, many officers are prosecuted, and many military units have been moved from the Hellenic-Turkish borders to the operations taking place in the south of Turkey.
It is true that at rhetoric level, the challenges have increased and are over the top. However, when he himself disputes the Lausanne Treaty it is like bringing up the issue of Constantinople. A President disputing international conventions is a President in panic. I hope that this panic does not intrigue facts which will threaten the stability of the region. The Hellenic Armed Forces are ready to respond to any challenge. They ensure our national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The morale and their professionalism are at high levels.
Don’t the 24 F-35 fighter aircraft ordered by Turkey concern you?
We are quite concerned and I believe that Greece should have joined the F35 program from the very beginning. We are not going to let the balance in the Aegean be disturbed and will do what is necessary in cooperation with our Allies.
