Posted 17.02.2012 11:05:05 UTC
Updated 17.02.2012 12:50:00 UTC
In a speech he made at a ceremony held to mark the 60th anniversary of Greece's NATO membership, Dimas said Greece had been faced with Turkey's threats since the 1970s.
He accused Turkey of constantly calling Greece's sovereignty rights into question and said joining the alliance had not help eliminate those threats.
Dimas also criticized NATO for being deaf against Turkey regarding the Cyprus problem.
NATO Secretary General Rasmussen who attended the meeting said the Cyprus not only damaged Turkey-Greece relations but also had a negative effect on NATO-EU relations, noting that relations had not been able to rise to their highest level because of the Cyprus problem.
He reiterated his hope that the problem would be resolved by July 1 when the Greek Cypriot sector of Cyprus assumes the term-presidency of the EU and said the exİsting plans are very close to being found acceptable by both sides.
Replying to a question on whether NATO favoured Turkey, Rasmussen said decisions within the alliance were taken by unanimous vote and the alliance favoured not one of its members against another.
Rasmussen also said that all allies are equal in NATO and it considered both Greece and Turkey as very important allies.
The while Rasmussen delivered his speech, groups of Greeks staged a demonstration outside of the building against the alliance.