85974 - Transcription: Post crisis future preparations in the Middle East

N. Lygeros
Translated from the Greek by Athina Kehagias

The mode of the conference in Paris is already different and we comprehend that we are no longer talking about a purely military operation, in regards to what is happening in the Gaza Strip. In actual fact, we are already talking about what will happen afterwards. We are already searching for a political solution to the issue, we want this conflict to be ended and in fact the proposals that were put across, one of which was made by the Prime Minister of Greece as well, is that the creation of the Palestinian state should become a matter of fact, so that there may be a context of peace which will exist in the region. What is the idea? It is that Palestine ought to definitely exist as a state, it should certainly coexist with Israel, but we ought to be careful in relation to facts which are created, e.g. from Hamas, because they do not want the existence of the two states, they want the complete eradication of Israel. Therefore, we are in a completely different context. Consequently, we ought to understand that the de-escalation of the conflict has in fact begun in an indirect and diplomatic form, because while we were expecting for it to get out of control in the beginning, we can now see that it is clearly regulated, and that on the ground the movements that are being made are in order for this control to prevail and consequently the neighboring countries, but even Greece, are playing this role and are already discussing what can be done next, so that we may avoid the same facts, I mean the repetition of another attempt, through the existence of the Palestinian state. This is important, because in actual fact, while on the ground we have moved into another phase, already at the level of diplomacy and high strategy we are looking into the future and this configures the situation with which we will deal with the present, In such a manner, so that we have the future with which we should live and produce a work in the region which will avoid the deadfalls of this sort.