Greece responds to FYROM flag stunt on Mt Olympus

The Greek Foreign Ministry on Monday issued a terse response following questions about a visit last week by the deputy speaker of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Antonio Milososki, to Mount Olympus, where he and other FYROM citizens unfurled flags bearing the Vergina Sun, a symbol widely used in ancient Greece and adopted for use by FYROM on its national flag despite Greek protests.

“We thank Mr Milososki for visiting our country to be photographed, in Greece, with the Vergina Sun, a Greek national symbol,” ministry spokesman Constantinos Koutras told reporters. “We do not encourage him, however, to do so in his country, as that would constitute yet another violation of the Interim Accord and the Memorandum of Practical Measures,” Koutras said, adding that “provocations may justify the Greek stances against every kind of irredentism, but they help no one.”