Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the European Council President Donald Tusk had a telephone discussion on Tuesday to discuss among other things the FYROM name dispute ahead of today’s EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia, Bulgaria.
According to an EU official, the feedback from Athens and Skopje regarding the FYROM name issue are positive.
"The two Prime Ministers - Tsipras and Zaev - will meet bilaterally on the sidelines of the Western Balkans Summit. We hope that they will inform us of good developments in the ongoing negotiations. The agreement will not be concluded in Sofia, obviously, but by June - which is the key month for EU decisions on starting accession negotiations with FYROM - we hope to have a good outcome," the official said.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a tweet on Tuesday that Greece will always play a constructive role in Balkan stability and growth, commenting on a phone call with European Council President Donald Tusk on the FYROM name issue.
"I was in contact with (European Council President) Donald Tusk on preparations for the EU-West Balkan summit. Greece will always play a constructive role in Balkan stability, collaboration and growth," Tsipras said on Twitter.
