FM Kotzias to Spiegel: Germany reacted aggressively at certain points in its history

In an interview to German magazine Spiegel on Monday, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias talked about a number of issues, including the situation in Ukraine, the sanctions against Russia and Germany's role in Europe.

Read below excerpts of the interview on several issues.

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 thirteen 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 ten 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...