Foreign minister says Kammenos cannot block FYROM name deal

With Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia looking at best chance in years to resolve the festering name dispute with a composite name, thanks to the moderate stance of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and his apparent willingness to compromise, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias made clear that Syriza’s coalition partner, the right-wing Independent Greeks party, is in no position to block a prospective deal.

The remarks came after Independent Greeks leader and defense minister Panos Kammenos declared that he will never consent to a name that includes the term Macedonia.

Kammenos cited the April, 1993, conference of political leaders convened by then president Constantine Karamanlis, which decided not to recognise any name that included the word Macedonia.

“It is the right of every political party to take a stand on issues that they consider of fundamental importance. What is needed [to approve a compromise name] is a majority of MPs in parliament, not a majority of party. This would be a responsible majority. This issue cannot fester just because some people are playing with the future of the country,” Kotzias told ERT state TV.

Greece mulls extending territorial waters in Ionian

Much more importantly for Greece’s geopolitical and economic interests, Kotzias announced that Greece is poised to exercise its right to extend its territorial to 12 miles in the Ionian Sea, in a bid to delineate its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) with Albania.

In April, 2009, and after years of negotiations, the two governments signed a deal delineating their respective EEZs.

Rama and the Turkish factor

But that agreement was annulled one year later by the Albanian Supreme Court, following a petition by Eddie Rama, Albania’s current prime minister, on the grounds that the government had ceded national sovereignty by handing over to Greece 300 sq. kilometres of Albania’s EEZ.

At the time, the Greek side was convinced that Turkey had played a role in pushing to scrap the deal.

In February, 2017, in a debate over the issue in the Albanian parliament, former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who signed the deal with Athens, accused Rama of having been paid off by and having acted on behalf of Turkey when as opposition leader he had challenged the agreement in the supreme court.