N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: Good evening, Mr. President.
 
P. KAMMENOS:  Good evening Mr. Chatzinikolaou. I wish you good luck on your new post.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: Thank you very much. I will start by asking about your decision to be on Imia islets today in order to honour the three heroes of the crisis which took place 21 years ago. I would like to ask you whether you think that this decision influenced the strong intention of violations which were committed by the Turkish side subsequently.
 
P. KAMMENOS: Mr. Chatzinikolaou, it was not a decision, it was an obligation to be there, it is an obligation of every Minister of National Defence in our country to honour the place of sacrifice, to pay tribute to the three heroes who fell for us all. I will not ask for anyone’s permission for that. Within the Greek air space, over Greek territorial waters, over Greek territory, the Minister of National defence is obliged to be there; the Armed Forces and the Coast guard are also obliged to be there and do what every citizen, as well as every officer, NCO and soldier, are obliged to do, namely to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity of our country and practically travel across their homeland.
 
So, this was not a decision, this was a usual visit which will continue to be paid either on this day which is a day of commemoration of the three officers who were killed for their country, or on any other day when we will be visiting Greek islands.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: Some said that the Minister of National Defence went there suddenly early in the morning without having previously announced it, so as to catch the Turkish side unprepared, and so they implied that otherwise it would not be easy for you to be there. The same people posted on the internet today that “the Minister of National Defence may be there on a helicopter and throw a wreath, yet I do not know how easy it would be for a Greek citizen to visit Imia”.
 
P. KAMMENOS: Mr. Chatzinikolaou, the people who say this are also the ones who, in 1996, together with Mr. Pagkalos who now voted for the New Democracy party, said that flags should be carried away by the wind. I wish to assure you that, as the Commander of Kastellorizo and all our Commanders assured me, we will not strike the flags on Greek islets unless they have been out and must be replaced with new ones. And as long as even one of us is alive, as the Commander of Kastellorizo said, these flags will be standing and will be waving above the Aegean Sea and will indicate our country’s national sovereignty.
 
Those who say all this are the same people whose articles I read today on various papers. If they think that this government or other previous governments or governments that will be formed, will have the same fate as Simitis’ government, as Pagkalos’ government, as governments who left the Chiefs of General Staffs and the Commander of the National Intelligence Service out of the Parliament and the Prime Minister did not receive them but gave them orders either to hand over Ocalan or let the flags be taken by the wind are wrong. This is not an issue of political controversy; this is a matter of national attitude and an obligation of us all.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: Mr. Minister, today an MP of the majority of the Turkish parliament, namely an MP of the government, made a very provocative statement, threatening Greece with war about Imia islets. I would like to hear your comments on that. Let me ask you, at first, whether you estimate that this was a personal action or whether this threat comes from an MP who expresses Erdogan’s opinions, that is whether he was asked to make this statement.
 
P. KAMMENOS: Mr. Chatzinikolaou, we have heard unbelievable things. Some MPs said that they would swim all the way to Agathonisi island – we never saw them arriving – others said that they should occupy Greek islands. Greece will not be concerned with views of some MPs in the Turkish assembly or elsewhere. Turkey is a country that wants to join the European Union and ought to respect international rules. It is a member state of NATO and ought to respect the international law.

Let me add something, because they ask why I went there in the morning. I went to Farmakonisi island in the middle of the day with the Defence Minister of the Netherlands where she inspected the outpost and, then, we visited Agathonisi island where the mayor and the residents welcomed her and cooked homemade foods for her, saying that she was the first EU Minister that ever set foot on Agathonisi island since Greece joined the EEC. Yet, they even gave her the keys of their homes because they had no golden keys.
 
Europeans and NATO allies are now there. Through the operation SNMG2 they can realize that the one that provokes, violates international law and harasses even NATO vessels within the Greek territorial waters is not Greece, but Turkey. This, if you like, is what we earned from the presence of the allied forces in the area of eastern Aegean Sea.

N.CHATZINIKOLAOU:  How do you think that this will be continued? I would like to say, Erdogan keeps raising the tenor and yet he has also the refugee issue in his “quiver” of threats. This raises a great concern particularly in view of the oncoming tourist season; the question whether it is possible that suddenly Greek islands are overwhelmed with thousands of refugees just before the beginning of the tourist season.
 
P. KAMMENOS: The subject of the agreement on refugees and migrants is not a subject that regards only the bilateral relations of Greece and Turkey. Turkey has signed three contracts. One contract is bilateral with Greece, the second one is with the European Union and this is where the “money” comes from. Three billion euro is paid by the European Union to Turkey exactly to help it create camps where migrants as well as refugees will be hosted. There is also a third agreement with NATO which was signed also by the Defence Minister of Turkey after the trilateral meeting we had with the Defence Minister of Germany, which was also approved by the USA and was unanimously voted by other NATO member states.
 
What is this agreement about? According to it whoever is rescued within the Greek or Turkish territorial waters – and this is what the NATO forces do there – must be returned to Turkey. So, these threats should not be addressed to Greece, but if Mr. Erdogan dares, he should address them to Ms. Merkel who will visit him tomorrow or to Mr. Trump with whom he tries to find a point of contact. We, as EU and NATO member state we are equally concerned with this as all the other member states of our alliances.
 
Mr. Chatzinikolaou, we want peace, we do not attempt to create any troubles to anyone on the Aegean Sea. There will not be any aircraft, however, that will not be intercepted. It is us that will do the last landing. A ship which violates our national territorial waters will be persecuted and warned to observe international law. We want to live peacefully in our area, yet they must understand that such kind of eastern type “bullying” will not be tolerated by Greece.

N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: Did Prime Minister’s phone call to Angela Merkel today regard Greek-Turkish relations and the refugee issues?

P. KAMMENOS: To tell you the truth, I have not seen him yet. We spoke on the phone with the Prime Minister a short while ago, we will meet soon. I am in the Parliament, he comes there too. I have no information so as to tell you something about this phone call. I assume that it did not regard any issues of my responsibility, but I think that it might regard the negotiation which I too believe that it is time for it to end, to everybody’s benefit.

N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: I will ask also about the negotiation; before that, I would like to ask you about the battle worthiness of the Hellenic Armed Forces. Do the Turks have become more aggressive, to say it in this way, and think that due to the financial crisis the Hellenic Army has no more the same force it had some years ago?
 
P. KAMMENOS: Admiral Kountouriotis liberated the islands of eastern Aegean Sea after the biggest financial crisis in our country. The Hellenic Armed Forces are not affected by such kind of crises. The personnel have suffered severe cuts as far as their incomes are concerned, yet Greek Officers, NCOs and soldiers defend their homeland; they defend their homes.
 
I would like to assure you that the battle worthiness is very high. The other side should worry about that. The Hellenic Armed Forces, the Army, the Air Force and the Navy are ready to confront any challenge. On the other hand, more than 60% of the pilots of the Turkish Air Force have deserted the army because they have been accused of participating in coups. Just yesterday, 40 officers fleed to germany, 320 to NATO. They are throwing 22 year old boys to the air.
The forces of the 1st Army, from Evros have been transferred to Syria. As far as the Navy is concerned Greece is stronger at sea with the vessels of our fleet, as well as with our submarines. And I wish to assure you that the biggest weapon system that Greece has is the morale of Greek soldiers, NCOs and Officers.
 
Regardless of how strong force they try to demonstrate with their new armaments, they should know that this land fought with much fewer means and always won. So, Greek citizens have nothing to be afraid of. The Hellenic Armed Forces are battle worthy, have high morale and they should stay out of the political conflict and I call on them to do so, as a Greek citizen and not as Minister of National Defence or as a party leader.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: Now, I do not address my next question, which is also the last one, to the Minister of National Defence, but to the Leader of a party of the coalition government and I would like to ask what will happen with the assessment. Because today, we have information transmitted from Brussels, which creates even more concern, that Troika refuses to return to Athens and continue the negotiation if the measures are not previously voted by the Hellenic Parliament.
 
P. KAMMENOS: Mr. Chatzinikolaou, the negotiation should have been concluded about two months ago. Unfortunately, some people in Europe try to extend the negotiation for long and delay the conclusion of this case that is called memorandum, for domestic political reasons, such as the ones in Germany.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: Is it only their fault? Isn’t the Greek government responsible for anything at all?
 
P. KAMMENOS: Yes, it is only their fault.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU:  Mr. President, I am asking you because I read on Bloomberg that Mr. Tsakalotos, in his letter, says that we have done only the 1/3 of what we had committed ourselves to do and that we can do another 1/3 over the next fifteen days and the final 1/3 after the assessment has been concluded. Have we also delayed?
 
P. KAMMENOS: Mr. Chatzinikolaou, I will tell you that in the financial field we did what we had agreed to. This is also obvious from the results of 2016 and from the surplus we achieved. As far as the labour issues or the requests of the International monetary Funds are concerned, I will tell you that this government achieved everything that the European Union and the creditors had asked for. On the side of the International Monetary fund, their requirements were related to a big haircut.
 
We have here two doctors with the same patient who give two different prescriptions. We cannot take both medicines, how can we do that? I believe that what delayed somehow the assessment and hopefully will help us now find a solution was that the United States of America had also the procedure of the change of presidency and administration. America has a new president as of 20 January.
 
You know that the United States of America influence, in particular, the International Monetary Fund. I am particularly glad and I am telling you this not only because I appreciate it, but also because we are told so. Yesterday, I had the chance to meet the Ambassador of the United States of America who posted an interesting tweet. I had the chance to meet Mr. Manatos, a Greek American who struggles for the Greek interests in the United States for several decades together with his family. I also had the chance to meet Mr. Lauder who is one of President Trump’s biggest financial supporters and chairman of the World Jewish Congress and gave a very interesting interview on Kathimerini newspaper.

N.CHATZINIKOLAOU:  What is the conclusion?
 
P. KAMMENOS:  The conclusion is that the geopolitical position of Greece, as well as the survival and reinforcement of Greece, are key factors for the new government of the United States of America, for the solution of serious issues which are terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: Are you talking about a political solution as far as I can understand. Brussels do not accept it, they say “we do not come back unless new measures are voted.”
 
P. KAMMENOS: It is a political conflict the one that we have now, Mr. Chatzinikolaou, and where does this political conflict come from? On one hand, the International Monetary Fund says “take another medicine, another prescription and we will cut your debt” and, on the other hand, Europeans say “take an other medicine and we will not cut your debt”. We cannot do both, it is a conflict between them.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: And what will happen? Shall we repeat 2015?
 
P. KAMMENOS: No, we will not repeat 2015, but it is not possible to speak again of new cuts to impoverished citizens. We can no more speak of new taxes. It is over, Greek people cannot stand it. It is not possible to ask for new taxes. This is over. And it is a bad strategy that Mr. Mitsotakis and his associates  
say “we will sign everything”. No, we will sign nothing. As for what we agreed on, as country and not as government, we did it and it is their turn to do what they must do.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: And what is the alternative if we do not agree?
 
P. KAMMENOS:  The alternative is that they agree on what we agreed on and signed. It is not an alleged agreement. We signed some measures which Mr. Meimarakis and New Democracy party voted for too, as well as the other parties.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: To conclude, what is your intention?
 
P. KAMMENOS: Our intention is for them to decide that they cannot keep threatening Greece, neither of these sides. It is up to them to apply what was agreed upon. Greece is consistent, will remain consistent, growth has begun to return. You can read the figures on the final page of the “Economist”.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: Our society has seen this growth yet, Mr. President.
 
P. KAMMENOS: Of course, it has not seen it and this is the point. We cannot strike our society harder; we cannot pressure Greek people even more. They will not stand it.
 
N.CHATZINIKOLAOU: Thank you, Mr. President.
 
P. KAMMENOS: Good luck. Thank you for inviting me.