Siljanovska and Gerapetritis side by side in Skopje

North Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova and Greek Foreign Minister sat at the same table on the sidelines of a diplomatic forum in Skopje, BGNES reported.

Siljanovska hosted today the summit of heads of state and government in the South East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP).

Gerapetritis came to the Macedonian capital for two hours, but no meeting between the two took place.

Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, on the other hand, had only a brief telephone conversation with his Greek counterpart this morning.

BGNES recalls that during her swearing-in ceremony on 12 May, the new RSM president Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova used only the name "Macedonia" instead of the official name - the Republic of North Macedonia. This caused a strong reaction in Athens and an international diplomatic scandal.

Minister Gerapetritis stressed several times that "Skopje's European path depends on Athens".

The treaty was signed on 17 June 2018 in s. Nivitsi on the shores of the Great Lake of Prespa by the foreign ministers of the two countries, Nikos Kodzias and Nikola Dimitrov, in the presence of Prime Ministers Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev. The agreement put an end to the long-standing dispute over Macedonia's name between the authorities in Skopje and Athens. | BGNES