Greece has called on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to be realistic and prepared for compromises on the eve of trilateral negotiations on the name that are scheduled to take place Thursday and Friday at UN headquarters in New York.
Speaking after a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said Athens will go to the negotiating table hoping to achieve a solution.
“I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic, but I have the will to find a solution,” Kotzias said.
Kotzias will hold talks with his FYROM counterpart, Nikola Dimitrov, and UN envoy Matthew Nimetz. In parallel, legal experts from both sides will also be meeting to iron out the details of the political agreement.
The Greek minister denied that Greece is under pressure from the U.S. and its European allies to find a solution to the naming dispute before a landmark EU Summit on enlargement in late June.
Most member states want to extend a formal invitation to FYROM to start accession talks. A NATO summit in early July will see Greece’s allies also back the country’s membership.
On Saturday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence called Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to encourage him to achieve a solution to the decades-old naming dispute with FYROM.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
