Greece reaches out to USA over regional issues

Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had a telephone conversation with US Vice President Mike Pence on Saturday over regional issues whilst Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias will meet today with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo in Washington in the context of his official visit to the USA.

According to government sources the Greek PM briefed Pence on the developments in the Balkans and the negotiations on the FYROM name issue which will also be one of the main topics of discussion between Kotzias and Pompeo.

The US Vice President recognised Greece’s efforts for a solution and its role in the region’s future and said that a historic opportunity window for solution exists for reaching an agreement with Skopje over the name.

According to diplomatic sources, Greece is high on the agenda of the new leadership of the US Department of State which recognises Greece’s upgraded geopolitical role as factor of stability in the wider region of the Balkans and southeastern Europe.

On Tuesday, Kotzias will meet with the national security advisor of the US President John Bolton and will hold talks the presidents of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus and the Congressional Hellenic Israeli Alliance .

On Wednesday, the Greek Minister will be in New York to meet with UN secretary general Antonio Guterres. The two officials will discuss the latest developments on the Cyprus issue as well on the negotiations on the FYROM name issue. They will also discuss the UN’s reform course.

Later, Kotzias will attend a working lunch with the President of UN’s Assembly and the Foreign Minister of Slovakia Miroslav Lajcak.

The new trilateral meeting on the FYROM name issue will be held on Thursday and Friday in New York with the participation of the Greek Foreign Minister and his FYROM counterpart Nikola Dimitrov in the presence of UN Special Mediator for FYROM name issue Matthew Nimetz.