Clinton and Papandreou meet on Berlin sidelines
The U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton agrees that the government of George Papandreou is taking initiatives
PM, Papandreou and Secretary of State, Clinton are in concert over issues
Prime Minister George Papandreou detailed his government's initiatives in a series of foreign policy issues during an informal meeting in Berlin with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday, on the sidelines of celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The meeting was held at the initiative of the Greek side to better present Athens' positions.
Papandreou referred both to his recent trip to Istanbul and his meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as to Greece's initiative on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), stressing that "Greece is playing a leading role in the Balkans again and desires to contribute decisively to (the region's) EU accession course."
The Greek prime minister made it absolutely clear that a precondition for FYROM accession course is the solving of the neighbouring country's name, in accordance with "national red lines" that has been set on the part of Greece, meaning a composite name with a geographical qualifier for all uses without exception.
Papandreou also pointed to his initiative for an informal acquaintance meeting with Skopje's Gruevski, which took place in Brussels recently.
The Greek prime minister further briefed Clinton on his recent trip to Cyprus, his talks with Cyprus President Demetris Christofias and the island's other political forces and underlined that "we must let the two communities discuss their future openly and freely, under the umbrella of the EU."
Papandreou pointed out that whatever agreement is reached must fully respect the acquis communautaire to enable it to be a workable European solution. On the occasion of Clinton's recent meeting with the Ecumenical Patriarch, the prime minister also focused on the issues of the Patriarchate.
On her part, Clinton agreed that the new Greek government is a government that takes initiatives.
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