Greece supports North Macedonia’s bid for EU membership -Foreign Minister

Greece fully supports North Macedonia on its accession to the European Union (EU), along with other Western Balkan countries, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias has said.

Dendias who said this at a news conference broadcast on Greek national broadcaster, ERT, stressed that this remained Greece’s position, as long as previously agreed criteria are met.

“Greece has been historically advocating and actively supporting the Western Balkan countries’ European perspectives.

”It has been two decades now and we will continue to do so,” he said.

Dendias noted that the full implementation of the 2018 Prespa agreement, which solved the long-standing dispute between the two countries over the use of the name Macedonia, was the prerequisite for advancing cooperation.

Under the accord, the Balkan nation was renamed to the Republic of North Macedonia from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

The use of the symbol and the name Macedonia, the same name of a province in northern Greece, since the FYROM declared its independence from Yugoslavia, had caused concerns in Greece.

This was anchored on the fears that the use of the name could lead to territorial claims by the Balkan state. (Xinhua/NAN)