Greece will not agree to the accession of Kosovo to international organizations

The government’s position that it does not intend to agree to the integration of Kosovo into international organizations, despite the fact that it maintains good neighborly relations, was pointed out from the floor of the Parliament by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Gerapetritis.

He distanced himself from the Bakoyannis report at the Council of Europe, noting that Greece will abstain from voting on Kosovo at the next Council of EU Foreign Ministers.

Responding to a topical question from the New Left Member of Parliament, Sias Anagnostopoulouthe foreign minister emphasized that Greece’s foreign policy is characterized by a “position of principle. We will never appear inconsistent,” he said, emphasizing specifically on the issue of voting: “The position of the Greek government is absolutely stable within the framework of the Council of Europe. This particular parliamentary procedure does not concern governments. Greece maintains a consistent position. Just as we abstained from the process in which Kosovo’s application for membership in the security council was rejected, so we will vote in the next council of ministers. Abstention is considered a refusal”.

At another point in his presentation, Mr. Gerapetritis pointed out that “our position is clear and clean. We said that we do not think that under the current circumstances it will be possible for Kosovo to join international organizations. The Greek government is not going to agree to the integration of Kosovo, although we maintain good neighborly relations. What each MP did is a matter of independence. But the government’s position is consistent.”