Turkey’s efforts to legitimize “illegal” claims on Greek sovereign territory are doomed to fail because they’re contrary to international law, Greece’s Foreign Minister, Nikos Kotzias, said on Monday during his visit to Cyprus. he said that Turkey has submitted a document to the United Nations containing “erroneous positions” regarding Greek …
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Serbian FM Dacic sings to Greek counterpart Kotzias (video)
Diplomacy is more than sit around a table, exchange nice sentences and trade A for B and D for C. Hosting a dinner for his Greek counterpart on a visit to Belgrade, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic grabbed the microphone and sang a Greek song to Nikos Kotzias … in …
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Greek FM Kotzias on visit to Serbia, FYROM and Kosovo
Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias is departing Tuesday for a trip to Serbia, FYROM and Kosovo. The visits take place as Macedonia name talks with FYROM continue. Kotzias’ first stop will be Serbia, where he will meet on Wednesday with Serbian Vice President and Foreign Minister Ivitsa Dacic and President Alexandar …
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Unresolved issues in Macedonia name remain, as talks conclude in Vienna
A fresh round of Macedonia talks concluded in Vienna last Friday afternoon, where the foreign ministers of Greece, Nikos Kotzias, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov, had a meeting with the Special Envoy of United Nations, Matthew Nimetz. Although all people parties involved expressed optimism in statements …
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Macedonia name talks move forward, looks as if “Gorna Macedonja” qualifies
In his first historical visit to FYROM’s capital Skopje after the removal of Alexander the Great names and statues, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said he believes in a “honorable compromise” from which both countries will win. “You cannot get everything you have in your mind,” he said, following lengthy …
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FM Kotzias receives threat letter with bullet inside. creepy threats
A bullet wrapped in a letter arrived at the Foreign Ministry, the envelope was addresses to minister, Nikos Kotzias. The letter was reportedly referring to the ongoing negotiations on the Macedonia name dispute and the latest developments. The bullet and the letter were immediately forwarded to Greek police. According to …
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Turkish court rejects release of two Greek soldiers – What’s next?
Turkish judicial authorities have postponed an appeal hearing against the imprisonment on remand of the two Greek soldiers arrested last week. “The hearing will take place some time this week,” the lawyers of the two Greeks said. They had applied for the clients’ release from Edirne prison early on Monday. …
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Turkey claims it worries about Greek FM Kotzias’ “non peaceful behavior”
The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Hami Aksoy expressed concern early on Feb. 17 about the Greek foreign minister’s remarks regarding the Greek’s attitude towards Turkey. In a statement posted on the website of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Aksoy said that Greek Minister Nikos Kocias’ statement, which he gave to a …
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Greece considers seeking compensation from Turkey for damaged patrol boat
Greece is considering seeking compensation from Turkey for the minor damages caused to the Coast Guard vessel after it was rammed by a Turkish patrol boat near the islets of Imia at around midnight on Monday. “We are considering whether the Turks will have to pay [for the damage],” he was …
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Zaev announces FYROM will accept “geographic qualifier” in Macedonia name dispute
“We are prepared for a geographic qualifier,” Prime Minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Zoran Zaev announced on Tuesday. He added that FYROM will rename Skopje’s airport and the highway linking the capital of FYROM to the Greece border. Under the previous nationalist government, the airport was named …
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Unimpressed from Macedonia mass protest, Greek gov’t will continue talks as planned, says
The first government reaction to the Macedonia protest came from Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias, right after the Greek police announced its estimation of the number of participant sat 140,000 people. Minister Kotzias who leads the negotiations with FYROM over the Macedonia name implied that the number of participants was not …
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UPD Threats over Macedonia name: FM Kotzias receives letter “We have three bullets for you”
Minister for Citizen Protection, Nikos Toskas, revealed that Foreign Minister, Nikos Kotzias, received a letter threatening him and his family. “We have three bullets for you,” the anonymous sender wrote, Toskas said adding that the letter did not contain any bullets. Speaking to private ANT1 TV on Friday morning, the …
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Greek FM says FYROM new name must be in Slavic dialect and “mainly untranslated”
The Greek side will present a draft agreement to Skopje within February that deals with all open issues relating to the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and related issues of irredentism, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said in an interview broadcast by ERT public television late on …
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“Greece will propose composite name for all uses,” says FM Kotzias on Macedonia name dispute
Greece will propose a composite name for all uses in its negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on the name issue, which will differentiate it from the Greek Macedonia with geographic qualifiers, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias announced in a televised interview with ANT1 on Monday night, according …
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Greek FM warns Turkey that “some of its islets could turn into grey zones” too
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias challenged Ankara and the latest claims by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and warned that some islets areas in Turkey could also turn into grey zones. During a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart counterpart Edward Nalbandia, journalists asked Kotzias to comment on Yildirim’s claim …
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FM Cavusoglu tells Greek counterpart Kotzias to handover 995 “coup supporters”
Defying the rules of diplomacy, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called on Greece to handout several hundreds alleged coups supporters the regime in Ankara describes as “Gulenists”. “We don’t want Greece to become a safe haven for FETÖ [Fetullahist Terrorist Organization],” Çavuşoğlu told reporters speaking at a joint press conference …
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FYROM tells Greek FM to support its bid to EU/NATO without solving “Macedonia” dispute
The Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia told Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on a day-visit to Skopje to “recognize the new reality” in the country and support its bid to join the European Union and NATO. Such a move would require overcoming the dispute row over the country’s name. Greece …
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Ploy or Coincidence? FM Kotzias angry at claims Greece’s court prone to gov’t intervention
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reacted strongly to foreign press reports suggesting that the country’s rule of law is in danger due to specific court decisions. The particular case refers to a legal dispute between Minister Nikos Kotzias and the magazine Athens Review of Books. However, the case …
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Groundhog Day: Cyprus reunification talks collapse in Crans-Montana on Turkey’s insistence
Talks to reunify the divided island of Cyprus collapsed amid anger and recriminations in the early hours of Friday, marking the end of a 10-day long process in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. The United Nations had said that the talks in July was the “the best chance” for a deal to end …
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Cyprus talks stall as Turkey insists on EU freedoms for Turkish settlers, no troops withdrawal
UN-sponsored Cyprus talks at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, stalled on Thursday as the Turkish side insists to promote EU freedoms for the Turkish settlers in the occupied north part of the island. The issue triggered the intervention of Maarten Verwey, Director General of the Structural Reform Support Service of the European Commission, …
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