President urges resolution to name dispute
Settling the name dispute between Athens and Skopje will greatly benefit the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, where Greek investments have created some 20,000 jobs, Greece?s president said on Wednesday.
?The message to Skopje is crystal-clear. The name dispute must be solved via negotiations at the UN… and not in the courtroom,? Karolos Papoulias said after a meeting with Foreign Minister Stavros Dimas, urging FYROM to resume talks.
Earlier this month the International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled Greece was wrong to block FYROM?s bid to join NATO in 2008.
Papoulias?s call came as FYROM Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski on Wednesday blamed Athens for the impasse in the talks, saying New Democracy party leader Antonis Samaras recently snubbed an invitation to discuss the issue.
?This attitude of ignorance and rejecting meetings shows arrogance and is not helping good-neighborly relations,? said Gruevski.
Greek officials said they received no official invitation.
