Greece is a peace-loving country and therefore has very good relations to most countries in the world. This is supported by the Greek Diaspora, which helps to defend Greek interests in other countries and to build a bridge between Greece and other nations for economic and cultural cooperation.
Because of a long history, the European Union, and cooperation with other European states, best relations have been developed between Greece and European countries. Nevertheless Greece further possesses strong economic ties to the Middle East region and there is a close cooperation between Greece and Latin American countries in international organizations, too.
The partnership with the USA is of utmost importance for Greece and there is a Greek Diaspora with great influence in the USA. Both countries cooperate in the fight against terrorism as well as in economic matters. Referring to Russia, Greece also has a close cooperation on economic and energy issues, as well as in cultural fields. Greece is promoting an EU- Russian partnership.
On the Balkans Greece has a stabilizing role. Its aims are security, stability and peace in this region. It supports the improvement of bilateral relations with its neighbours and promotes an EU partnership or candidacy for those countries. The stability in this region is that important for Greece because of its geographical proximity. Thus Greece has established the Hellenic Plan for Economic Reconstruction on the Balkan (HIPERB) and is hoping for a growing economic market for its products.
Apart from good relationships Greece also faces conflicts with its neighbor Turkey. The most popular conflict currently is the Cyprus Conflict. This island is parted because, after years of conflicts, Turkey took 38% of the island by an invasion in 1974. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only officially acknowledged by Turkey. This conflict now has a real chance to be solved, because Cyprus is going to accede to EU this year. Kofi Annan, the Secretary General of the United Nations, provided a time schedule for solving the problem- otherwise he will introduce the steps.
The second conflict Greece and Turkey face is the Aegean Dispute. The conflict arose when gas and oil reserves were found in the Aegean Sea. The problem is that Turkey did not sign the Geneva Maritime Law Convention. According to that convention the reserves are within the Greek shelf. Greece wants to solve the problem of who is allowed to exploit the resources by addressing the ICJ, but Turkey refused. Greece and Turkey are also arguing about the airspace above the Aegean Sea, about the NATO airspace control and about the military status of the Eastern Aegean Islands. But the Aegean Dispute is nearly settled down yet.
The last issue that has to be pointed out within the Greek- Turkish relations is the irritation over the treatment of minorities. After the last Greek- Turkish war the Treaty of Lausanne determined an interchange of both countries minorities. On the one hand Greece misused the Islamic minority as a means of exertion of influence during the Junta dictatorship; on the other hand in matters of domestic policy Greece ignores those people and their needs. Both countries accuse each other to maltreat their respective minorities.
Greece was one of the founding members of the United Nations. In 2001 it took a holding in 47.568.000 US$ to the UN system. Its actual interests are solving the Cyprus Conflict, stabilization at the Balkans and it was calling for an international Truce for the Olympic Games. The Greek country takes part in most United Nations sub-organizations and participates in many different Peace- keeping missions, e.g. in Georgia, Western Sahara, Cyprus, Lebanon, the Golan Heights, Sierra Leone, Kosovo and Macedonia. Furthermore Greece took part at the missions in Angola, East Timor, Iraq, Kuwait and Bosnia Herzegovina as well.
Apart from that, Greece is member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Trade Organization, the World Bank Group and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and the International Atomic Energy Agency, for example. Moreover Greece is also a strong supporter of a European Security and Defence Policy. NATO shall become a strategic partner for this European force.