Greece will insist on its position of not recognizing the founding of Kosovo and call on Serbia and its former provinces to continue the negotiations facilitated by the European Union, the Deputy Foreign Minister Mirtiadis Valviziotis told Interview with EURACTIV Serbia.
22 of the 27 member states recognized Kosovo, which became independent from Serbia in 2008, as an independent country. Countries that do not recognize Kosovo’s independence include Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus, Romania and Greece.
In June, Athens decided to upgrade the status of the Pristina trade office, which attracted the attention of Belgrade, which regarded Greece as a traditional Orthodox ally.
Serbian President Alexander Vucic describe At the time, the warming of relations between Athens and Pristina was “certainly not the best news” for Serbia.
But Varvitsiotis has assured Belgrade that Greece’s position has not changed.
“Greece’s position on Kosovo’s status remains unchanged. At the same time, it is well known that Greece has adopted a constructive attitude towards Pristina, which is in line with our strategic goal of strengthening stability and security in the Western Balkans,” the conservative Minister Pai said.
Varvitsiotis said that since 2019, Greece has been hosting the Kosovo Trade and Economic Affairs Office in Athens to promote bilateral cooperation.
“Without involvement of status-related issues, we recently decided to change its name to the’Athens Kosovo Interests Office’,” he said.
The main reason why Greece does not want to recognize Kosovo is that the recognition may have a negative impact on Cyprus. The northern part of Cyprus has been illegally occupied by Turkey since 1974.
Since the Balkan Wars in the early 20th century, Serbia has also been a traditional ally of Greece.
Greece’s position has always been that if Belgrade and Pristina come up with a generally accepted solution, it will eventually recognize Kosovo, which is the goal of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue initiated by the European Union in Brussels.
Varvitsiotis also supports the continuation of the dialogue, a series of EU-enabled dialogues initiated between the Serbian and Kosovo governments in 2011.
“We firmly believe that the implementation of the agreements that have been reached remains crucial,” the Greek minister said.
“Following the last two meetings between President Vucic and Prime Minister Kurti in Brussels in June and July last year, the two parties must step up their efforts to reach a legally binding comprehensive agreement in accordance with international law and EU regulations. “He said.
Serbia, which has been a candidate for the EU since 2012, and Kosovo, which has not yet applied for membership, are currently holding another round of talks in Brussels.
EU spokesman Peter Stano said earlier this week: “The two sides are expected to discuss current issues and the next step in the dialogue.”
Reaching a mutually agreed “comprehensive agreement” to regulate their political and economic relations is a key requirement for the two countries to advance the prospects of their EU member states.
[Edited by Sarantis Michalopoulos/Zoran Radosavljevic | EURACTIV.com]
