The President of the Republic of Greece, Prokopios Pavlopoulos, is paying a two-day official visit to Montenegro, where he sent a strong message to some of Greece’s neighbors on Thursday.
Pavlopoulos sent a clear political message from Podgorica, the capital city of Montenegro, to North Macedonia, Turkey and Albania that if they want to have a European future they should fully respect the European acquis and international law.
During his meeting with the President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic, Pavlopoulos also urged the three nations to resolve all their differences with EU member states in the region if they would like to join the Union in the future.
The Greek president stated that “the European prospect of our neighbors contains two self-evident conditions, which we must point out in all sincerity: If they want to have European prospects, they must respect the European acquis and international law.”
More specifically, Pavlopoulos referred to North Macedonia, noting that Greece favors its accession into the EU, provided that Skopje will fully respect the Prespa Agreement signed with Greece a few months ago.
Pavlopoulos said that the Agreement “must be interpreted and implemented in a way that will not allow any trace of irredentism.”
”Any other tactic would obviously hinder the progress of the Republic of North Macedonia in its European accession course,” the Greek President emphasized.
Regarding Greek-Turkish affairs, Pavlopoulos reiterated that “Greece seeks relations of friendship.” He added that “the Treaties of Lausanne and Paris, which are totally clear and comprehensive, leave no room for doubt, and should be totally respected by all.”
Speaking on Albania and its European prospect, which in principle, “Greece does not oppose,” Pavlopoulos noted that “behaviors as those against the Greek minority constitute a insurmountable obstacle for Albania’s smooth accession to the European Union.”
This was the first official visit of a Greek President to Montenegro since the country’s independence in 2006.
With information from A.M.N.A.
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