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ND's Koumoutsakos to ANA: ND does not forfeit right to veto Skopje's EU accession progress

ND's Koumoutsakos to ANA: ND does not forfeit right to veto Skopje's EU accession progress
EUROKINISSI

Main opposition New Democracy's president, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has made it clear to all parties "that an ND government will not forfeit the right to veto Skopje's progress toward European Union accession," ND shadow foreign minister George Koumoutsakos said in an interview with the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA) published on Sunday.

"There will be no shortcuts with ND. SYRIZA's 'yes to everything' approach will come to an end," he stressed in the interview.

Asked about the main opposition's decision to vote against the ratification of the NATO Accession Protocol that admits Greece's northern neighbour into the Alliance as the "Republic of North Macedonia", Koumoutsakos said that ND had "been consistent" with respect to its positions.

"[ND] has always supported the stabilising value of the Alliance when SYRIZA was calling NATO a 'killing machine'. [ND] has a clearcut western orientation but also the courage of its convictions," he added.

Commenting on the prime minister's trip to Turkey, Koumoutsakos said that dialogue is imperative but it must be productive and not compromise the country's interests. On the symbolism of the prime minister's visit to the Halki Theological School, meanwhile, he noted that "symbolism is chiefly related to the field of public relations" and that the School was not a bilateral issue but "Turkey's obligation toward the European Union and the international community".

Source: ANA