The United States is interested in the success of the diplomatic activities between Skopje and Athens to resolve the name issue. This is the attitude of the US ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey Pyatt, at the Economic Forum in Delphi, Greece, where former Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis was very skeptical. She said she is afraid […]
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said after his visit to Skopje, Tirana, Sarajevo, Podgorica and Pristina that he had not promised a date for joining the European Union. He added that he did not promise dates for the start of pre-accession negotiations and that the quality was more important than speed for him. – The […]
Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos announced the composition of Greece’s new government, following a cabinet reshuffle carried out by the Prime Minister on Wednesday evening. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras did not opt for a sweeping change of the government scheme, but made only a “corrective” reshuffle of his cabinet. Analysts wide expected more “corrections” to be […]
Parliament of Kosovo has once again adjourned the voting of the bill for the ratification of the demarcation agreement with Montenegro. The adjournment came once again as a result of the lack of the number of votes needed for the ratification of the agreement, although yesterday, the heads of the governing coalition had declared that […]
If there is mood in the current government in Skopje, we should use that, said former Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou in a conversation with Greek journalists following parliamentary hearings, the online edition of the newspaper To Vima reported. According to the Greek news agency ANA-MPA, he emphasized that the solution will certainly include the […]
Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, spokesman of the Greek government, said Tuesday that Greece’s stance and preconditions were clear, while the neighboring country was the one that needed to demonstrate willingness for an agreement, otherwise there would be no solution. “We have said what the preconditions are to reach an agreement. Thus, if our neighbors are willing to […]
Greek opposition party New Democracy says the name dispute should be a package solution, not a partial one. MP and former foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis has also criticized the Greek government over the way it is conducting the negotiations, MIA reports from Athens. “The Tsipras government has launched the negotiations without knowing the aim. We […]
Greece’s Economy and Development Minister Dimitri Papadimitriou has resigned, an aide said on Tuesday, after his wife, a deputy labour minister, quit in a housing allowance row on Monday, Reuters reports. Papadimitriou, whose remit involved promoting Greece abroad for investment projects, submitted his resignation to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday night, an economy ministry official told Reuters. “He […]
The request for the neighboring country to amend its constitution is a firm negotiating stance of Greece’s government, spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos says in an interview with the radio ‘Real FM’. Tzanakopoulos once again notifies his country’s stances related to settling the Athens-Skopje name dispute, MIA reports from the Greek capital. Greece stands for a complex […]
Athens prefers that the new name is in Macedonian language, without translation and as one word, reads Greek daily “Ta Nea” in Monday’s analysis of the draft-treaty that Greece will present to Macedonia, MIA reports from Athens. The paper claims that Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias handed over the 20-page document to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras […]
There is no pressure on Greece over the name issue, says government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos, MIA reports from Athens. “We need to understand there is an opportunity for Greece and the neighboring country to reach a mutually acceptable compromise solution that will be beneficial for both sides, but also for the Balkans in general, because […]
Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos during Thursday’s meeting with President of Ireland Michael Higgins said that if Macedonia wants to integrate into NATO and EU it needs to change the constitution highlighting that whatever name is chosen should not contain a single trace of irredentism in terms of borders, nationality or language. At the beginning of […]
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov referred late Wednesday to the situation in Macedonia in the context of “Great Albania ideas.” At a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade, Lavrov said there are concerns over EU’s passivity regarding the initiative that had emerged from Tirana, the so-called Tirana Platform, which “is an […]
An unknown person threw an explosive device, probably a hand grenade, at the United States embassy building in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, before blowing himself up, the government said on Thursday, Reuters reports. Messaging in English on its official Twitter account, the government said that half an hour after midnight (1130 GMT), “An unknown person committed suicide […]
The whole international community, including the countries that have been using the name ‘Macedonia’ bilaterally, should accept the solution, said former Foreign Minister of Greece Dora Bakoyannis in a TV interview, MIA’s Athens correspondent reports. “We want a solution the whole international community will accept. That’s the goal because currently they are being called ‘Macedonia’ by […]
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had a phone conversation with Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss several issues, including the name dispute, Tsipras’ office said Tuesday. “The two leaders discussed developments relating to the negotiations on the FYROM name issue, provocative Turkish activity in the Aegean, and Turkey’s relations with the European Union,” read a […]
Moderate optimism for finding a solution to the name issue has been expressed by the former Greek ambassador to Macedonia, George Kaklikis. Speaking to CNN.gr, he referred to his tenure as ambassador to Macedonia, especially the year 2001 when Macedonia and Greece had been very close to reaching a solution after the Greek government had initiated […]
The United States doesn’t support exchange of territories, says the US embassy to Kosovo. Its statement reads that the US doesn’t back swapping of territories or the establishment of a precedent that could cause more problems than solutions. “All parties need to be creative in finding solution.” As part of the Brussels dialogue, it adds, […]
There is a ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ made between Russia and the US and its Western allies in the 1990s that NATO will not expand eastward towards the borders of Russia. It has been breached with the three enlargements of NATO. Now, they want to embroil the Balkan region into this game, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov […]
Kosovo Parliament has abandoned plans for organising an extraordinary session of Parliament on Sunday evening when MPs were expected to vote ratification of the border agreement with Montenegro. Parliament of Kosovo issued a press release on Sunday announcing officially that the extraordinary session has been postponed indefinitely. Earlier on Sunday the Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, said that the session might be […]
