Name compromise must be reached, says Greek FM

A name compromise must be reached in  order to open Macedonia’s accession path to the EU and other organizations, says Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias in an interview with daily “Ethnos”.

“In the case of fyRoM, our neighbors believed they could join these organizations by avoiding an agreement with Greece, which is impossible, while some of us believed that inertness of foreign policy is our weapon”, says Kotzias.

He adds that Athens and Skopje have now realized they should work on the grounds of consensus and compromise.

“Our interlocutors are now aware of the fact that a sincere compromise needs to be reached regarding the name of our northern neighbor. It is true that some in the EU had illusions in the past that the road to EU and other organizations required no compromise”, says Kotzias.

The Macedonia-Greece name talks under the auspices of UN envoy Matthew Nimetz are expected to resume in Brussels.