2024-04-29 12:33:45
Greece has above all “strategic relations” with the countries of the Western Balkans, Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis told parliament on Friday, the Greek agency ANA-MPA reported for BTA.
“At the moment we have excellent relations with all countries,” Gerapetritis pointed out and added that Greece is a country that can be relied on.
To a question from an opposition MP, Gerapetritis replied that Greece “maintains excellent relations with all countries of the Western Balkans, especially with traditionally friendly countries such as Serbia and Montenegro, with which (Greece) has reached special agreements on transport and energy connectivity”. Greece’s policy also allows to be “an honest interlocutor in difficult circumstances such as the relations between Belgrade and Pristina and also to be able to talk with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo”.
Kosovo
“We have said from the beginning that we do not believe that Kosovo can, under the current circumstances, become a member of international organizations,” stressed Gerapetritis. He specified that “the Greek government will never agree to the membership of Kosovo, although it retains the necessary bilateral relations in order to maintain good neighborly relations” and is absolutely consistent in this position.
The Prespa Agreement
Regarding the upcoming ratification by the Greek Parliament of the Prespa Agreement (on the dispute over the name of the Republic of North Macedonia – note ed.), Gerapetritis noted that the government “fully accepts the Prespa Agreement”.
“It could not be otherwise since it is a constitutional obligation. On the other hand, we closely monitor its development and implementation. In order for there to be development, for the protocols to be ratified and for there to be progress in the secondary protocols and memoranda, there must be agreement between the two parties and there must be full implementation of the obligations of the Prespa Agreement,” he explained.
Albania
“Greece fundamentally supports the accession of Albania to the European Union. Of course, we feel that the policy we are following is in agreement with the interests of the Greek minority in Albania. The rule of law is not a two-sided issue. We raised it to a European issue,” Gerapetritis stressed.
In connection with the inclusion of the mayor-elect of the city of Himara Fredi Belleri, who is detained in Albania, in the list of the ruling New Democracy party in Greece for the European Parliament elections, Gerapetritis so that it is “related to the party and not to the government “.