Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras hailed historic ties with Serbia in a televised exchange with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (pictured) yesterday. The meetup was part of a Western Balkans conference promoting bilateral relations between the Balkans nations.
According to the news, the meeting between the two leaders is but the first step toward promoting bilateral cooperation for greater security and stability in the region. Prime Minister Tsipras also congratulated Vucic on his appointment earlier this year.
Vucic pointed out that some memorandums of cooperation that were due to come into being after a meeting that also included Bulgarian leader Boyko Borisov. Tsipras, Vucic and Borisov of Bulgaria also discussed Thessaloniki train links with Burgas and Belgrade, as well as energy cooperation between the three countries as well as Greece’s dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) over what that country’s official name should be.
Also during the meetup, Serbia’s president said his country is pressing the European Union to provide a clear timetable for his country’s accession to that bloc of nations. Serbia formally started accession talks back in January of 2014. Vucic had this to add:
“I’m not expecting an answer anytime soon on when we’ll join, but we’re asking from a framework. Tell us clearly what is expected and when it is expected by.”
Prime Minister Tsipras also discussed infrastructure projects of joint interest, including an idea of a navigable link via rivers from Greece’s Thessaloniki to Serbia’s Belgrade and a rail link from Thessaloniki to the Danube, the longest river in the European Union (EU) region.