Athens, 20 January 2022 (MIA) – Greece’s firm position that North Macedonia and Albania should be approved to hold the first intergovernmental conferences (IGCs) with the EU was reiterated by the country’s Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias after a meeting with the Kosovo counterpart, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz. Dendias said their talks focused on the European perspective of the region, the situation in the Western Balkans, ways for establishing energy cooperation as well as on bilateral relations, MIA’s Athens correspondent report. Referring to the region, he said that Greece wants the Western Balkans in terms of energy connectivity to join the TAP gas pipeline through interconnectors. Dendias called for conditions to be created that will strengthen stability, adding that Greece being the first Balkan country that had joined the European family is feeling huge moral duty to help the region join the Europe. “We believe the Western Balkans has to look toward the future and not backwards, to the past. All Western Balkan countries should have good relations with all countries in the wider region, but the only path is Europe,” the Greek top diplomat said. “The European legislation, democracy, rule of law, protection of human rights is the political, economic and cultural compass, returning to the 19^th century isn’t,” he said. Minister Denidas will travel to Croatia on Friday. He is scheduled to join PM Kiryakos Mitsotakis during their official visit to Belgrade next week.