During the visit of Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos to the capital of FYROM, Skopje, earlier on Thursday, the Greek minister was greeted by nationalists pertaining to the radical groups “World Macedonian Congress” and “Association of the Aegean Children,” who were holding banners accusing Greece of “occupying” FYROM and of “genocides.”
Meanwhile, after Venizelos’ refusal to hold a common press conference in the room bearing the inscription “Republic of Macedonia – Ministry of Foreign Affairs” in the background, the foreign minister of FYROM, Nikola Poposki, mentioned sarcastically to journalists that “the Greek minister didn’t seem to like the background.“
Greek Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos said Thursday that he senses an extra urgency among officials in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to resolve the name dispute with Greece.
“The ongoing political developments in Greece, in relation also to the upcoming two elections in May, do not currently favor any negotiations being held for coming up with a solution,” said Poposki commenting on the dispute over the country’s name.
Greece should respect the “condemnatory,” as Poposki said, a verdict issued by the International Court of Justice in 2011, which calls for the country to agree on the admission of FYROM to NATO and the EU, as its objection is against the UN Interim Accord, which has been signed and ratified both by Greece and FYROM.