The use of its constitutional name North Macedonia erga omnes, for all intents and purposes, is fundamental to Prespa Agreement and it is not negotiable, the Prime Minister stressed, Kyriakos Mitsotakisin discussion with former US Ambassador to Athens Daniel Speckhart in Washington.
The prime minister said the problem with the Balkans is that often the specter of nationalism rears its head when no one necessarily expects it, and gave North Macedonia as an example.
“North Macedonia is a member of it NATO “Today, because Greece lifted its veto after the Prespa Agreement, signed and ratified by the previous government. We made it clear that this is an international agreement that is binding on the country. We respect that and I respect that. One of the fundamental aspects, if not the most fundamental, of this agreement had to do with the name North Macedonia, used erga omnes. And this is something very clear and non-negotiable for Greece. When I hear that the new government refers to the country as the Republic of Macedonia within the country, I am seriously concerned. And this is an issue that I intend to address. It is not constructive and does not help North Macedonia’s European path”, stressed the Prime Minister.
Mr Mitsotakis also referred to Cypriot. He said that 50 years have passed since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and reiterated the need for a resolution based on the decisions of the UN Security Council. He recalled that Cyprus is an occupied European country.
About it war in UkraineThe prime minister said Greece had been aligned with its allies from the beginning and offered full support to Ukraine.
“And this was not a given for a country that had historical, cultural and religious ties with Russia,” he noted, adding: “We have made our position clear. We have delivered in terms of political, economic and military support and our position will not change.”
He stressed at the same time that the EU was remarkably united. “We have put in place a number of strong actions and indeed it was we who delivered a significant package of fiscal support,” he said.
Regarding the prospect of Ukraine joining the EU, he said that “we have crossed this bridge and this long journey has begun”.
He continued: “So I don’t see any signs of wavering in the European commitment. Yes, we may have problems with one or two countries. It just so happens that one of them leads the Council of the EU at the moment. But the overall European support has been very consistent and strong.”
The Prime Minister also referred to the organization of European security and the possibility of it functioning as a complement to NATO.
He spoke about the proposal he made to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk: “For a European defence initiative that is essentially a European air defence shield to reinforce our existing defence capabilities, committing more European resources to this project, always fully integrated into NATO structures,” he said.
About relationship with TurkeyHe recalled that we had three years of difficult times, remembering that in the last year and a half things have improved significantly and we must recognize that.
“At the same time, we recognise that some of Turkey’s fundamental positions on the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean have not fundamentally changed. But the fact that we have had sixteen months of peace, in terms of no violations of Greek airspace, that we are cooperating better on immigration, that we have actually made an agreement that allows Turkish citizens to travel to the Aegean islands and get visas very quickly, these are all positive steps,” he added.
Source: RES-MPE
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