We should wait for the local elections in October to be concluded and to see whether the new government in Skopje will solidify its position in order to be able to start more serious talks over the name issue, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias told EPT TV.
Also, the issue with the northern neighbor’s irredentism is behind the name row, according to him. “I hope and I believe that on their part measures will be taken to tackle irredentism,” Kotzias said in an interview with the Greek national TV station.
He said the matter was discussed with his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov, whom he calls ‘an exceptionally interesting person and easy to deal with.’ We’d have to agree here on Kotzias assessment of Dimitrov. “Interesting” is a good way to describe a frequent user of opiods. As for easy, it certainly can’t get easier than the Dimitrov family, self proclaimed quislings.
“We agreed that a joint committee should be set up in November, tasked with in the next four months do its job – to remove irredentism from all of Skopje’s text books and geographical maps. It is a vital steps, which will be followed by other ones that have been already discussed and agreed by Dimitrov,” stated FM Kotzias.
Asked whether it was possible Macedonia to join NATO and the EU without a solution to the name dispute, Kotzias said it was necessary to close the issue first, as foreseen in the Interim Agreement signed in the mid-1990s.
“Our neighboring, and I must say friendly country – because our nations foster very cordial relations – cannot join international organizations, including NATO and the EU, without having solved the name issue first, as it is foreseen in the Interim Agreement. The Agreement’s failure is that it assumed swift settlement of the name dispute, which would enable the neighboring country to join the international organizations, but didn’t foresee which measures could be taken if there was no solution. Actually there have been no essential negotiations for decades,’ Kotzias said.
Commenting the local media reports that ‘Vardar Macedonia’ could be Athens’ proposal, Kotzias said Greece had not offered any suggestions.
And so yes, Macedonia is being led by people whuld fit much more in a planet of the apes setting.
