In an interview to German magazine Spiegel on Monday, new Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias referred to a number of issues, including the situation in Ukraine and related sanctions against Russia. He also referred to Germany’s role in Europe.
Read below excerpts of the interview.
On the European stance towards Russia
Europe needs to decide whether it wants to incorporate Russia into its security architecture, or whether Russia is an enemy. Europe is presenting a very poor image to the peoples of the south when the last 13 meetings of the Council of Ministers have concerned only memorandums, punishments and sanctions. We have lost a lot of time.
On SYRIZA’s agreement with the sanctions against Russia
On my first day at the Ministry, I read that there is a unanimous decision from the EU on Ukraine and Russia. We called the Commission. They said, there’s no problem, we’ll backdate your consent by one day. Obviously, the previous government allowed the Commission to act in this manner. I told them they couldn’t mean what they were saying. If I had accepted that, Greece would have lost its rights. Instead of apologizing, they started a campaign according to which we appeared to be pro-Russian and dependent on Russia. When our protest was the most important pro-European move Greece has made in the past 10 years. We are a poor country, a small country in crisis, but an equal country. We are burdened by debt, but we are not without rights.
On the role of Greece in foreign policy
Greece is in the middle of a triangle. Ukraine is at the top, Libya is on the lower left, and on the lower right is the Middle East, at a distance of just 300 kilometers from us. All of these regions are destabilized. What would happen, for instance, if, under immense pressure on economic issues, Greece was destabilized as well? That would create a line from Russia, through Ukraine and the Balkans, to the Middle East and North Africa. A vast arc that could bring millions of migrants to Europe. Then the whole of Europe would be destabilized. What we are saying is, peace and justice in Ukraine are of equal importance with stability in Europe.
Regarding an invitation he extended to irredentist Russian theorist Alexandr Dugin to visit the University of Piraeus in 2013
He was one of Putin’s advisers and held one of the most prestigious chairs at the Lomonosov Moscow State University. I taught international relations, and I regularly invite diplomats and professors. Dugin was cited to me by diplomats, and he was to speak at other universities, apart from the University of Piraeus. Dugin was very anti-American, very pro-German, a cross between Huntington and Fukuyama. I didn’t like him, we clashed, and I didn’t even accompany him to the exit.
On Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos
He belongs to the popular right, which has the same stance we do on the issue of the memorandum (the troika’s austerity policy). The previous government worked with the Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.O.S.) party: pro-Orthodox, anti-Semitic and ultra-nationalist. Showing great hypocrisy, Europe said nothing about this. The LA.O.S. politician Makis Voridis was the leader of a fascist youth group, and he, in fact, became the conservatives’ Health Minister. Further back, he had written anti-Semitic texts. Why wasn’t anything written about that? Because he was a good ‘yes-man’ who said yes to the memorandums.
On Germany’s role in Europe
Germany reacted aggressively at certain points in its history. It was prompted to play the role of leader, despite not being ready from an intellectual and cultural standpoint. Thus, it assumed this role with violence. This is also my effort to explain the phenomenon of Hitler. My second position describes Greece as a “debt colony” and Germany as a sovereign power that holds sway over Europe but has not yet developed cultural leadership. This remains a justifiable criticism that I can defend scientifically. In this, I am not comparing the Federal Republic of Germany with the Germany of the Second World War. Nazism, this industrialization of murder, cannot be compared to anything. Whoever compares it to anything – whether this be Israel or Mrs. Merkel – is not only committing a scientific error, but is also absolving the perpetrators of this murder.
