Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, addressing the conference organised by the Economist magazine on Tuesday evening, called on the neighbouring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to cooperate with Greece in finding a solution to its name issue.
He stressed that he extended a public invitation to the political leadership of FYROM for the discussion to be continued as soon as possible in the framework of the UN.
Karamanlis said that the solution must be a complex name that will be mutually acceptable and for all uses, a "solution that will not be able to be used as an vehicle for historically inaccurate, nationalistic and irredentist logic."
The prime minister termed its stance at the Bucharest summit and towards FYROM's NATO accession in general an "act of responsibility and credibility," adding that it is an act of consistency by Greece towards the principles of good neighbourliness.
Elaborating further on the issue of FYROM, Karamanlis said that in the process of seeking a solution there will be no winners and defeated and both countries will benefit, while noting that "partnership and allied relations cannot be built on pending issues."
Karamanlis further said that "we are awaiting their response, viewing the European future and not the Balkan past. We want to be allies and partners. We want relations of friendship and close cooperation."
Turning to domestic issues, the prime minister expressed his determination in continuing his reforms policies. He said that in an era of rapid developments, changes and challenges, the course towards future requires firm axes and strategic agreements, agreements that concern "where we want to go and, mainly, how to go."
The prime minister clarified that his commitment and his position is that the goals, no matter how conditions and the environment change, remain steadfast.
Karamanlis further stressed that it is disastrous for each state to leave matters to be crushed under the weight of the repercusions of global developments and underlined the need for a competitive economy and a foreign policy of open horizons.
Focusing on foreign policy in particular, Karamanlis said that Greece supports, "steadily and sincerely, not only the European prospects of the countries of southeastern Europe, but of neighbouring Turkey as well."
"The course, however, of each of our neighbours depends, first of all, on themselves. For us, their full compliance with the principles, values and prerequisites of the EU also means their full accession. We want to have our neighbours as allies and partners. It is, however, self-evident and clear that neither can allied or partnership relations be built on serious pending issues," he said.
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