Greek president Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Sunday, speaking from northern Greece, reminded that Athens’ veto towards the ΝΑΤΟ and EU accession course of the neighboring former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM) remains in place.
Speaking during a tour of the Macedonian-era Mieza archaeological site in Imathia prefecture, Pavlopoulos, who as head of state was elected by a majority of Parliament MPs, also referred to “successors and followers of totalitarian regimes, as demonstrated by the recent barbarous behavior towards refugees.”
He was referring to the neighboring country’s decision earlier in the year to refuse entry to Mideast refugees and other third country migrants attempting to transit fYRoM for preferred destinations in central and western Europe. The vast majority of people that entered Greece in an irregular manner over the past year and a half amid the refugee / migrant crisis landed on various Greek islands after being smuggled over from Turkey.
