Greece: FYROM violated 'interim agreement', not Athens; Crvenkovski pans gov't
Agamemnon
Crvenkovski pans gov't
Greece sharply condemned a decision on Monday by the government of the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to seek recourse at an
international court several months after the landlocked former Yugoslav
republic's bid to join the NATO alliance collapsed.
A Greek foreign ministry spokesman charged that the Gruevski
government's claims, namely, that Athens violated Article 11 of the
September 1995 "interim agreement" by airing reservations over FYROM's
coveted bid to join NATO, came after the same FYROM government recently
rejected a set of ideas submitted by the relevant UN mediator in the
"name dispute", ideas aimed at achieving a resolution.
"(the Gruevski government) sought recourse while hiding the fact, of
course, that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) had
previously and blatantly violated a series of basic article-obligations
clearly listed in this agreement, as well as the fundamental principle
of good-neighbourly relations," George Koumoutsakos' written statement
read.
"During the legal process we will have the opportunity to submit
relevant memoranda, while detailing at length Greece's positions over
the unprovoked and continuous violations of the interim agreement by
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ... With this legal redress
the government in Skopje once again confirms the fact that it is not
interested in a speedy solution to the dispute over the final name of
this country, as stipulated by Resolution 845 (1993) of the United
Nations' Security Council," he added.
Koumoutsakos said Greece will, of course, appear at the ICJ in The
Hague with all of the self-confidence and decisiveness afforded by its
comprehensive, succinct and substantive arguments.
In conclusion, he said Athens will remain devoted to the UN process for
achieving a mutually acceptable solution to the "name issue".
According to an ANA-MPA dispatch from Skopje earlier on Monday
afternoon, the FYROM foreign ministry announced that Skopje had filed
legal proceedings against Greece at the ICJ.
In an announcement, the country's foreign ministry said Skopje had
applied to the international court in order to "bring Greece into
compliance with its legal obligations under the Interim Accord "
According to the FYROM foreign ministry, Article 11 of the accord
obliges Greece not to object to the land-locked country's application
to join NATO.
"We have strong confidence in the International Court of Justice to
help us resolve this discrete legal dispute ... We are not asking the
Court to deal with other political issues, so that the dispute over the
name is not the subject matter of our Application," FYROM Foreign
Minister Antonio Milososki told local reporters.
FYROM president: No prior consultation
Nevertheless, an announcement released by the cabinet of FYROM
President Branko Crvenkovski charged that the "(Skopje) government has
brought a decision without any prior consultation with the (FYROM)
president ... thus violating the constitution and the law on foreign
affairs."
"By this act, as well as the attitude toward the process of
negotiations with Greece over the name dispute, PM Gruevski and the
government take all responsibility over resolving the dispute, which
implies the country's success or failure in the process of integration
with EU and NATO," the Crvenkovski cabinet statement reads.
PASOK reaction
Finally, main opposition PASOK MP and former deputy foreign minister
Andreas Loverdos on Monday charged that the "nationalistic leadership
of FYROM is leading efforts for a solution to the 'name issue' problem
to an impasse."
Loverdos said the Gruevski government has consciously chosen
"nationalism instead of relations of good neighbourliness with Greece."