The German government on Monday, extended an appeal to Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to resolve the name issue in this “historic opportunity”.
The appeal came a day before Tuesday’s meeting between Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his German counterpart Heiko Maas, in Berlin.
German Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Adebahr said that the solution to the ongoing naming issue between the two Balkan countries “will have a positive effect on both bilateral relations and the stability of the whole region.”
According to Adebahr, the meeting between the two ministers will focus on issues concerning the state of bilateral relations, which from the German point of view “progress very well” and for which “Mr. Kotzias is very active”.
In this context, the programs are part of the Action Plan agreed in 2016, the spokesman said, adding that the agenda would still be international issues such as Syria and Iran, as well as transatlantic relations.
“I also believe that the nomenclature between Greece and FYROM could be a subject to be discussed by the two ministers,” the German spokesperson said, regarding Berlin’s expectations for a solution to the naming issue.
“We are listening to the good news about the talks, and we welcome the fact that Greece and FYROM are obviously approaching each other in this open naming issue. The German government calls on both Athens and Skopje to solve the latest issues now. (To exploit) what could be a historic opportunity, namely to resolve this name dispute. Because we believe that resolving this conflict would have a truly positive impact both on bilateral relations and on the stability of the whole region. This is why we are watching the talks with great concern,” Adebahr said.
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