Athens will not change its position on Kosovo, but because it wants to see the normalisation of relations with Pristina, it supports a continuation of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić on his visit to Belgrade.
“We have not seen any progress in recent months, and I know that Alexander has committed himself to continue negotiations, in order to solve this problem in a fair way,” said Mitsotakis.
In the last year, there were rumours that Greece is planning recognition of Kosovo.
Five EU countries – Greece, Slovakia, Spain, Romania and Cyprus – currently do not recognise Kosovo’s independence declared on 17 February 2008. All but Cyprus are also NATO members.
Common vision
Meanwhile, Mitosotakis also said that Greece shares a common vision of the European future of the Western Balkans, stressing that Athens wanted to see Serbia as part of the EU.
After talks with Vučić on Wednesday evening, Mitsotakis said he hoped that Serbia would soon fulfil all the conditions and become a member of the EU, noting that this would be very important for stability, peace and cooperation in the region.
“The Western Balkans and its accession to the EU are a top priority for Greece from the Thessaloniki agenda in 2003,”, the Greek PM said.
Mitsotakis stated that Greece understands how serious reforms on the road to the EU are.
Regional cooperation leads to development, said Mitsotakis, adding that, for this reason, the EU was looking forward to the accession of all countries of the Western Balkans.
The Greek people are “a great and sincere friend” of Serbia, said Vučić, announcing that Greek President Katerina Sakelaropulo would soon visit Belgrade.
