News
10/14/2021 02:54
The Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Affairs Nikola Dimitrov, welcomed today the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece in charge of European Affairs Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, as part of his visit to Skopje.
Deputy Prime Minister Dimitrov referred to the intensified cooperation between North Macedonia and Greece in several areas, as well as the strategic partnership for achieving goals of mutual interest, including the start of accession negotiations between North Macedonia and the EU.
Mr. Dimitrov: "We had an open, cordial friendly meeting as befits the new chapter of relations between Greece and North Macedonia after the Prespa Agreement.
We primarily talked about the European future of the Balkans. This visit, among other things, for me is a signal of Greek support, we see that support in Brussels, we saw it at the Brdo Summit and we see it in public statements of Prime Minister Mitsotakis and in your statements.
Our discussions were also based on the Memorandum of Understanding that we already have with Greece to accelerate the European integration processes for the Republic of North Macedonia. We also talked about how to achieve a greater cooperation between our institutions and your institutions in this regard, and I think we had a fruitful conversation, which will continue this evening after several other meetings that our important guest will have later today."
On the Greek side, Minister Varvitsiotis confirmed the view that it is high time to begin with the accession negotiations between North Macedonia and the EU and that the imposed obstacles are unacceptable for Greece. “For us, the European perspective of the Western Balkans is a national policy that we have been implementing for almost two decades. We believe that the steps in this direction by Europe should be swift and decisive. We believe that the intergovernmental conference for the two countries Albania and North Macedonia should convene immediately. Regardless of the issue of the intergovernmental conference, as I said, Greece supports the stance for the conference to be convened immediately and quickly, and the European focus in this region should be increased. In our previous discussions we looked at ways in which Greece will provide technical knowledge about the process of integration of North Macedonia within the EU. "We are ready to participate in all aspects of European politics, but we are also ready to support our economic cooperation in the spirit of friendship and mutual understanding and friendly relations," Varvitsiotis said.