Main opposition New Democracy (ND) president Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Friday made it clear that he will not participate in any political leaders' council convened to discuss the fYRoM "name issue" if the current leftist-rightist coalition government does not present a clear and unified position on the matter.
His statements, made to reporters, came a day after Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias met in Thessaloniki with his counterpart from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov. According to the Greek state news agency, the two discussed "ways to move forward with the name dispute, focusing on methodology, the approach of the two parties (countries) and the framework related to the name issue".
On his part, Mitsotakis reiterated that his party's position is quite clear, echoing a standing 2008 position followed by successive Greek governments, namely: "a composite name with a geographic qualifier for all uses."
Moreover, he repeated opposition charges that the Tsipras government is engaging in "secret dipomacy", while adding: "Divisive language and national consensus do not mix".
