Athens, 1 June 2022 (MIA) – Speaking at Wednesday’s press briefing, Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Alexandros Papaioannou, reiterated Greece’s support for the EU perspective of both North Macedonia and Albania, as well as the other countries in the region. Papaioannou told MIA’s Athens correspondent that Skopje and Tirana should immediately start negotiations. “We spare no effort and we stress this to our European partners and the countries in the region. Our position is that the accession negotiations should start immediately and there’s no room for additional delay. However, there needs to be a unanimous decision by the European Union,” Papaioannou said in response to MIA’s question on whether there’s optimism for urgent start of EU negotiations after Dendias’ visit to North Macedonia and Albania. Commenting on the Greek Foreign Minister’s Western Balkans tour, Papaioannou noted that one of the messages sent by Dendias was that “the momentum should not be lost”, and the countries in the region should keep the European course as a basic perspective, because Greece believes it is in the interest of both the region and the EU in terms of stability. Papaioannou added that regardless of Ukraine’s application for European Union membership, there can be no delay in the European perspective of the Western Balkans, underlining that Greece and Europe should continue to support this perspective. Another important message, according to the Greek Foreign Ministry spokesperson, is that Greece is against any change to the borders in the region and beyond. “Any change to the borders would have catastrophic consequences for the region and beyond,” said Papaioannou. Last week, Dendias visited Skopje and Tirana, and traveled to Sarajevo on Tuesday. Dendias will continue his Balkan tour in Tuesday and Wednesday with a visit to Podgorica and Pristina, and he is also to travel to Belgrade. A South-East European Cooperation Process leaders’ meeting will be held in Thessaloniki on June 10, as well as high-level summit to mark the end of the Greek Chairmanship-in-Office.