The stalemate over Cyprus should be resolved, Greece and Russia said on Wednesday, a day after historic steps were taken to end the Athens/Skopje name dispute.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias was in Moscow for a meeting with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The two men discussed a number of issues but Lavrov, in comments reported by official Russian news agency TASS, said:

“Russia and Greece both call for resolving this long-standing [Cyprus] issue based on United Nations Security Council resolutions and agreements reached by the two communities”.

He also said Moscow and Athens believe that dialogue between Russia and the EU needed to be revived “so we welcome our Greek counterparts’ positive approach towards the matter”.

Kotzias said if it were possible to achieve progress on an issue like the FYROM name dispute, then other regional problems, such as in Cyprus and between Albania and Greece could also be resolved.

“Our country is located in a difficult geopolitical region, between many crises – Ukraine, Libya, Syria, Iraq – in this triangle of instability,” Kotzias said in a Greek Foreign Ministry statement.

“Now that we are emerging from the economic crisis, we believe that stability in the Balkans can help us grow all together,” he added.

Source: John Smith/greekreporter