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Prominent issues in Greek foreign policy include the enduring dispute over Cyprus and differences with Turkey over the Aegean, the dispute over the name of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and relations with the United States.
Relations by country
Turkey
Main article: Greco-Turkish relations
After more than a century of strained relations and intercepted fighting Greece and Turkey agreed under the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 to a population exchange as an attempt to reduce tensions between the two countries in the future. A significant 300,000 strong Greek community in Istanbul and a 100,000 Muslim one in Western Thrace were excluded from the transfer, with each one supposed to be working as counter-weights to any anti-minority policy that either Turkey or Greece may sought to apply in the future. The good relations between the two neighbors lasted until mid-1950s when the Cyprus problem surfaced. In 1955 an anti-Greek Istanbul pogrom was initiated by Turkish mobs against the Greek community of Istanbul, which led to the gradual extinction of the community. Similar policies occurred in the islands of Imbros and Tenedos. Up to late 1990s strained relations almost led to an open war in 1974, 1987 and 1996. Since the earthquake diplomacy in 1999 relations have once again began improving.
Cyprus dispute
Main article: Cyprus disputeAs the island of Cyprus was heading towards independence from the United Kingdom the 82% strong Greek and 18% strong Turkish communities began embroiled to a bitter inter-communal fighting, partly sponsored by the two "motherlands". EOKA-B and the Turkish Resistance Organization (TMT) were responsible for many atrocities which resulted in cementing tensions and led to total isolation of the communities with Turkish Cypriots withdrawn into enclaves. In 1974 the US-backed Greek junta - in power since 1967 - partly in a move to draw attention away from internal turmoil and partly unsatisfied with Makarios' policy in Cyprus, on 13 July attempted a coup to replace him with Nikos Sampson and declare union with Greece. Seven days later, Turkey launched an invasion of Cyprus allegedly to reinstate the constitution but which resulted in blooded conflict, partition of the island and mass ethnic cleansing. The overwhelming Turkish land, naval and air superiority against island's weak defenses led to the bringing of 37% of the land under Turkish control. 170,000 Greek Cypriots were evicted from their homes in the north with 50,000 Turks following the opposite path concluding the de facto division of Cyprus. In 1983 Turkish Cypriots proclaimed independence unilaterally with only Turkey recognizing them. As of today the north is under an embargo as a measure against the illegal partition of the island.
Ever since both countries along with the two communities of the island are engages into a vicious cycle of negotiations which led to little. In 2004 the Annan Plan for Cyprus was put to vote but whilst it was accepted by the north, it was rejected by the Greek-Cypriots as it meant in their eyes, endorsing a confederal state with a weak central government and considerable local autonomy. The Republic of Cyprus is a constitutional democracy which has reached great levels of prosperity, with a booming economy and good infrastructures, part of the United Nations, European Union and several others organizations by whom it is recognized as the sole legitimate government of the whole island.
Greece calls for the removal of Turkish troops from Cyprus and the restoration of a unified state. The Republic of Cyprus is receiving strong support from Greece in international forums with the latter maintaining a military contingent on the island, and Greek officers filling key positions in the Cypriot National Guard.
Aegean dispute
Main article: Aegean disputeOther issues dividing Greece and Turkey involve the delimitation of the continental shelf in the Aegean Sea, territorial waters and airspace. In March 1987 a dispute concerning oil drilling rights, almost led to war between the countries with Greece advocating the dispute to be decided by the International Court of Justice. In early 1988, the Turkish and Greek Prime Ministers met at Davos, Switzerland, and later in Brussels. They agreed on various measures to reduce bilateral tensions and to encourage cooperation.
Tensions over the Aegean Sea surfaced again in November 1994, when Greece claimed under the Law of the Sea Treaty states which both countries are signatories, that it reserved the right to declare an expansion of its continental shelf from 6 to 12 nautical mile around its Aegean islands. Turkey which has itself expanded its continental shelf in the Black Sea shore, stated that it would consider any such action a cause for war. New technical-level bilateral discussions began in 1994 but soon fizzled-out.
In January 1996, Greece and Turkey came close to an armed confrontation over the question of which country had sovereignty over an islet in the Aegean. In July 1997, on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Madrid, Greek and Turkish leaders reached agreement on six principles to govern their bilateral relations. Within a few months, however, the two countries were again at odds over Aegean airspace and sovereignty issues. Tensions remained high for months, although various confidence-building measures were discussed to reduce the risk of military accidents or conflict in the Aegean, under the auspices of the NATO Secretary General.
Turkey and the EU
Main article: Accession of Turkey to the European UnionGreece has come out in support of Turkey's bid for European Union membership, and supports its full integration to the union when conditions for its acceptance are met. On 6 May 2004, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan became the first Turkish leader to visit Greece in fifty years. On 24 January 2008, Greece's premier Costas Karamanlis visited Turkey a full 48 years after the last Greek premier and uncle of his Constantine Karamanlis had visited the neighboring country.
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Refusal to recognize the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name has become an important issue in Greek politics since 1992. Greece was adamantly opposed to any use of the word Macedonia to its neighboring country's name, claiming that the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has an irredentist agenda of a United Macedonia and thus tries to culturally hijack the Ancient Macedonian culture which was undeniably Greek. The dispute led to a Greek trade embargo against the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in February 1994 which ended when mediation efforts by the UN, U.S.A., and EU resulted in an interim solution in September 1995.
The republic agreed to be recognised internationally under the provisional reference "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" while retaining "Republic of Macedonia" as its constitutional name, until a conclusive deal was to be brokered between the two countries. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia also changed its national flag - which used to be the Vergina sun - and constitution to eliminate any irredentist articles. Since the signing of the interim accord, the two governments have concluded agreements designed to facilitate the movement of people and goods across their common border and improve bilateral relations. By 2008 Greece is recognized as the biggest investor in the country with 20,000 jobs being created by Greek businesses alone. Talks on remaining issues are still being held under UN auspices in New York.
Greece accused the government in Skopje of a counter-productive stance during UN talks with the aim to have the name issue solved by simply have other countries recognize it as "Republic of Macedonia". Till September 2007, 118 countries have done so. On the eve of April NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania where the bid by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was to be discussed, Greek urged the neighboring country to come and reach an agreement. Greek foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis said that Greece was willing to come to the half of the road by accepting a "composite name solution" which would include the word Macedonia for all international purposes and was expecting the Republic of Macedonia to walk the other half. Following the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's refusal to compromise Greece vetoed its accession to NATO.
In the long term, Greece strongly supports the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's integration into NATO and the European Union, as a part of the long-term process of integration of the majority of Balkan states into the EU. However, as of 2008, Greece is determined to veto any application until the name dispute is resolved. Relations between the two states therefore continue to be strained.
Serbia
Main article: Greek–Serbian relationsThe two nations are traditionally, historically, religiously and culturally close and their friendly relations are confirmed by a regular political dialogue. Greece is supporting quick implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and Serbia and easing visa regime EU towards Serbia. Greece is among the states that have not recognized the Kosovo Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
Greece is one of the most important economic investors in Serbia, mainly in financial, telecommunication, energy and construction sector. Greece will participate in financing construction of the Corridor 10 highway in Serbia with 100 mil. EUR in total which is a part of its Hellenic Plan for the Economic Reconstruction of the Balkans.
Albania
Greece and Albania - even though diplomatic relations were restored in 1971 - normalized relations only in 1987 as till then both countries were officially - in a cease-fire - but nevertheless under the state of war since Albania and Italy had declared war on Greece on 28 October 1940. During rule of dictator Enver Hoxha relations were strained because of the part that Albania played during World War II against Greece and also because of the material help that they provided to Greek communists during the Greek civil war. In addition there was controversy about the treatment of the Greek minority in southern Albania and the Cham issue.
After the fall of the Albanian socialist regime in 1991, relations between the two countries got better but soon begun to deteriorate with accusations about mistreatment of minorities vice versa. To the latter problem it was added the widespread phenomenon of waves of illegal immigration from Albania towards Greece. High criminality numbers from one hand and alleged police brutality from the other became familiar subjects on the news of both neighbors, increasing eventually tensions. According to official Greek data around 450,000 Albanian immigrants work in Greece and it is believed the number will almost double if illegal immigrants are accounted too. This is a brand new situation, for both countries as Greece for the first time become a destination country for immigrants and Albanians for the first time got out of their country after the total isolation that the communist regime had imposed.
Today, relations between the two countries are relatively good, and, at the Albanian Government's request, about 250 Greek military personnel are stationed in Albania to assist with the training and restructuring the Albanian Armed Forces. Albania's economy is overdependent to the money immigrants from Greece sent back home while Greece is the second larger trading partner with more than USD $400 million worth of investments. Moreover Greek products account for 21% of Albania's imports with Greece absorbing 12% of its neighboring country's exports. At the same time low cost labor from Albania propelled Greek economy's growth especially in the construction and agriculture sectors.
Armenia
Main article: Armenian-Greek relations
Greece was one of the first countries to recognize Armenia's independence on 21 September 1991 and one of those that have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. Since the independence of Armenia the two countries have been partners within the framework of international organizations (United Nations, OSCE, Council of Europe, BSEC), whilst Greece firmly supports the community programs aimed at further developing relations between the EU and Armenia.
Continuous visits of the highest level have shown that both countries want to continue to improve the levels of friendship and cooperation (Visit by the President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian to Greece in 1996, visit by the President of the Hellenic Republic Costis Stephanopoulos in 1999, visit by the President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan to Greece in 2000 and 2005 and visit by Greek president Karolos Papoulias to Armenia in June 2007).
Greece is, after Russia, the major military partner of Armenia. Armenian officers are trained in Greek military academies, and various technical assistance is supplied by Greece. Since 2003, an Armenian platoon has been deployed in Kosovo as part of KFOR, where they operate as a part of the Greek battalion of KFOR.
United States of America
Main article: Greek-American relations
The United States and Greece have long-standing historical, political, and cultural ties based on the shared democratic values, history of Greek immigration to the States and participation as Allies during World War II, the Korean conflict, and the Cold War. The U.S. is the largest foreign investor in Greece and has helped the reconstruction of post-war Greece through the Marshall plan and various other aids culminating at about $11.1 billion in economic and security assistance since 1946. The current mutual defense cooperation agreement (MDCA) provides for continued U.S. military assistance to Greece and the operation by the U.S. of a military facility at Souda Bay, Crete.
About three million Americans are of Greek ancestry. Greek-Americans are an established, well-organized community in the U.S. (several notable politicians, including former Vice-President Spiro Agnew, and Senators Olympia Snowe and Paul Sarbanes are of Greek ancestry), and they help cultivate close political and cultural ties with Greece. Greece has the seventh-largest population of U.S. Social Security beneficiaries in the world.
However, there is also a strong sentiment against USA policies towards Greece and the Balkans in general. Critics also charge the United States for supporting the 1967-1974 military junta in Greece a fact that was acknowledged by Bill Clinton in his visit to Athens “When the junta took over in 1967 here, the United States allowed its interests in prosecuting the Cold War to prevail over its interests - I should say its obligation - to support democracy, which was, after all, the cause for which we fought the Cold War. It is important that we acknowledge that.”
This American support for the military regime led to left-wing terrorist groups, most notably 17 November, attacking US targets such as the killing of the Central Intelligence Agency's station chief in Athens, Richard Welch in 1975. The populist PASOK leader Andreas Papandreou had also a very strong anti-Western rhetoric, fueling the negative sentiments towards USA, even though it wasn't followed by actions.
The backing of Turkish invasion of Cyprus by Henry Kissinger, the Kosovo war and the invasion of Iraq have tarnished the image of the United States in the eyes of their European ally. More recently, the strong support of President George W. Bush towards the Republic of Macedonia in the naming dispute, evident in his recognition of the state as Macedonia in 2004 and in his full backing to the country's accession to NATO didn't do the United States' image in the country any good.
Africa
Greece enjoys close historic relations with many members of the African Union, such as South Africa, Sudan, and Ethiopia.
The Middle East
See also: Greek-Iraqi relationsGreece has a special interest in the Middle East because of its geographic position and its economic and historic ties to the area. The country cooperated with allied forces during the 1990-1991 Gulf War. Since 1994, Greece has signed defense cooperation agreements with Israel and Egypt and in recent years, Greek leaders have made numerous trips to the region in order to strengthen bilateral ties and encourage the Middle East Peace Process. In July 1997, December 1997, and July 1998 Greece hosted meetings of Israeli and Palestinian politicians to contribute to the peace process. Greece also maintains diplomatic relations with the General Palestinian Delegation while enjoying cordial relations with Syria.
Terms
Northern Epirus
Northern Epirus is the name used generally by Greeks to refer to the southern part of Albania, home to a Greek minority which after 1989 keeps reducing due to immigration to Greece. The Greek minority was subject to oppression and harassment during Enver Hoxha's communist rule and along with the rest of Albanians was hit hardly by the isolation that the regime imposed and from the economic hardship that followed the fall of communism as well. The treatment of the minority by the Albanian government is strongly linked with the status of Greco-Albanian relations. The Greek minority is organized under the Unity for Human Rights Party which is the continuation of the former banned party called "Omonoia" (Unity in Greek) and has since 1997 joined the Socialist coalition. At the last elections the Greek minority party received 4,1% of the vote and two seats in parliament. The party leader is Vangjel Dule, while party member Vasilis Bolanos is the current mayor of the town of Himara. The party is represented in the ELDR group in the Council of Europe. Strong Greek presence exists in Gjirokastër (Argyrocastro), Korçë (Korytsa), Sarandë (Ag.Saranta), Himara (Xeimara) and the nearby areas. The former CIA director George J. Tenet, Pyrros Dimas, Sotiris Ninis and former Greek president Kostis Stefanopoulos have ancestral links to the Greek minority.
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
See also: Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and Halki seminary
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, protected under the treaty of Lausanne is a point of controversy between Greece and Turkey as the latter refuses to recognize the Ecumenical character of the Patriarchate thus requiring the Patriarch himself to be a Turkish citizen. Moreover the biggest part of the Patriarchate's property - known as Vakoufia - had been confiscated by Turkish authorities and the Theological school of Halki which is the traditional school out of which the Eastern Orthodox Church, draws its clergy is closed since 1971. To no avail numerous Greek, European Union and USA officials have criticized Turkey's attitude and even president Bill Clinton during his visit in Greece asked for the theological school to open. During Greek prime-minister's Kostas Karamanlis historic visit to Turkey in 2007, Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to reconsider his country's stance on the matter.
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a region heavily colonized by Greeks throughout history and used to have a heavy presence of Greek population up to the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. Nowadays there is still Greek presence in the shores of Black Sea mainly in Mariupol (Ukraine), Crimea, Russia and Georgia despite immigration to Greece after the dissolution of Soviet Union. Today Greeks in the region are estimated to be around 215,000 according to official Greek diaspora figures. Greece is a founding member of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.
International organization participation
Greece is a major participant in most large scale international bodies, with the geographic significance of the region proving advantageous for diplomatic, trade and political crossroads.
BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, International Maritime Organization, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, NATO, OECD, OSCE, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, WEU,WHO, WIPO, WMO.
Most recently, Greece was elected by the United Nations General Assembly to the United Nations Security Council, on 15 October 2004, as a non-permanent member for 2005 and 2006.
See also
- Diplomatic missions of Greece
- List of diplomatic missions in Greece
- Foreign relations of the European Union
References
- The Greek embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is expected to open in 2007
- Liaison Office in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
- Greece is represented in most of the rest states by either parallel accreditation of another Greek embassy or by embassies of other European Union member states
- Hellenic Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Lucas, Dimitrios (2006-01-04). "Greece's Shifting Position on Turkish Accession to the EU Before and After Helsinki (1999)". MA in European Studies. Catholic University of Leuven. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
one of Turkey's most ardent supporters within the EU.
- "Turkish PM visits Greek Muslims". BBC News. 2004-05-08. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
- Interview of FM Ms. Bakoyannis in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, with journalist Michael Martens
- http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3395.htm
- http://www.osaarchivum.org/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/101-4-123.shtml
- Bilateral Relations Between Greece And Albania
- United States Department of State: Background Note: Greece
- CNN - Greeks angered by NATO strikes clash with riot police - March 26, 1999
- Country Studies US: Greeks and Other Minorities
Further reading
- Economides, Spyros (2005). "The Europeanisation of Greek Foreign Policy". West European Politics. 28 (2): 471–491. doi:10.1080/01402380500060528.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - "Θέματα Ιστορίας: το Μακεδονικό ζήτημα, Ελληνοαλβανικές Σχέσεις, Ελληνοτουρκικές Σχέσεις, το Κυπριακό ζήτημα, Ελλάδα και Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, ο Ελληνισμός της Διασποράς", Μαρία Νυσταζοπούλου-Πελεκίδου, Ευάγγελος Κωφός, Κωνσταντίνος Αιλιανός, Αλέξανδρος Αλεξανδρής, Πασχάλης Κιτρομιλίδης, Παναγιώτης Ιωακειμίδης, Ιωάννης Χασιώτης, Οργανισμός Εκδόσεως Διδακτικών Βιβλίων, Έκδοση Α', Αθήνα 1998
External links
- Greece's foreign policy, via the Greek Ministry of Foreign affairs
- Ethnic groups in Albania, via CIA - The World Factbook
- Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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