Athens News Agency: News in English, 08-07-19

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] FM to brief EU, UN on FYROM

[01] FM to brief EU, UN on FYROM

Karamanlis' response, publicised on Friday, comes in reply to a letter by FYROM Prime Minister-designate Nicola Gruevski, who, among others, demands that the EU member-state pay individual reparations -- ones linked to the Greek civil war (1946-49) -- to citizens of FYROM, and even recognise a "Macedonian minority" in the northern Greek province of Macedonia.

According to reports, Bakoyannis will address letters to her French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, who currently chairs the EU Council, EU Commissioner responsible for enlargement Olli Rehn, as well as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

The Greek foreign minister is expected to highlight to a series of recent developments emanating from the one-time Yugoslav republic on Greece's northern border that Athens considers as negative, foremost being the Gruevski letter to the Greek prime minister during a particularly sensitive juncture in ongoing UN-mediated negotiations on the "name issue".

The Bakoyannis letter will also reportedly cite the high-profile arrest in Skopje of opposition Social Democrats' vice president Zoran Zaev on Thursday, who is considered as a front-runner for the party's helm, as well as well-publicised irregularities in the general election in FYROM on June. 1.

Finally, the Greek FM is expected to reiterate, as Karamanlis did this week, that Greece is absolutely committed to the negotiations process, under the continuing UN auspices, that will lead to a mutually acceptable solution for the "name issue".

Meanwhile, in a related development, the foreign ministry underlined that Greece is not interested in "throwing up walls" on its borders, in response to various press articles referring to visitors from the neighbouring country arriving in Greece for a festival in the village of Meliti, in the border prefecture of Florina.

Ministry officials merely noted that whoever has valid Schengen Pact travel documents and respects Greek law is more than welcome to visit the east Mediterranean nation.

Caption: Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis. ANA-MPA

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