NEWS

Former PM Karamanlis backs Bakoyannis on criticism of Macedonia name deal

Former PM Karamanlis backs Bakoyannis on criticism of Macedonia name deal

In a statement issued by his office on Saturday, former conservative prime minister Costas Karamanlis backed his one-time foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis, saying her comments in Parliament the day before "reflected absolutely" his administration's stance on the Macedonia name dispute.

"Mrs Bakoyannis's speech reflects absolutely the framework of the policy of the then government on the Skopje issue, culminating at Bucharest as well as the essential differences from the policy and tactics of today's government," the statement said, referring to his administration's stance at a NATO summit in the Romanian capital in 2008.

Karamanlis's statement, issued in response to a question by the Athens-Macedonia news agency, followed Bakoyannis's speech in Parliament on Friday during which she described the current government's deal with Skopje as a "bad agreement" and the result of concessions from the Greek side.

Bakoyannis clashed in the House with Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias who is expected on Saturday to submit in the House dozens of declassified documents revealing the stance of previous administrations in Macedonia name talks.
 

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