We correctly asked that we opened the issue of erga omnes, we could manage the negotiations, and thus be close, for the first time so close, to an agreement. But even if there is no agreement, we will not be guilty and the entire universe knows this, says “Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias in an interview with TV show “Istories” on Greek tv station Sky.
Kotzias believes that the negotiations are going well, but it is already a question of the other side “whether it will accept erga omnes, which is a bold decision” and explains that the perception is erga omnes should be for external use only.
– To be a true erga omnes should be implemented in the interior of the country. Can an international agreement be concluded that will contain all of this? There may be lawyers who believe in it. But experience shows that if this government changes, the next one will send Zaev in jail, saying he has violated the Constitution by accepting an international name that is not envisaged and not permitted by the Constitution. That is, for us to protect Zaev, as I have explained to them, a change of the Constitution is needed, says Kotzias.
According to MIA correspondent in Athens, Greece’s Foreign Minister in his last Sky TV interview reiterated his position once again with the example of the documents that different name can not be used in internal and external documents, because there are moments when an internal document, for example, an ID card or the Constitution, or a diploma from a University, should be translated into another language for use abroad, and in that case would contain not the new, but the constitutional name. According to Kotzias, this would lead to everyday disagreements about what name would be used, and Athens cannot allow this.
– It will be a continuous quarrel. Therefore, each time I emphasize that the solution should be stable, long-lasting and solved, instead of creating problems, adds Kotzias.
Regarding Macedonia’s NATO membership, asked whether it is possible for a “temporary integration” to be negative, explaining that it could create a problem and pressure on Greece.
– We can agree to give an invitation, NATO is invited and then ratified in the parliaments. Subsequently, parliaments send it to the United States, Washington, because it is the guardian of NATO’s agreements since its inception. Here, what’s the problem? I explain it to everyone. Let’s say that there are 29 NATO member states, 28 of them ended with ratification, and we have not ratified it because they did not make the changes they promised. Whose fault is it? The problem will be shifted to us, we’ll be blamed, said Kodzias, MIA reports.
