SETimes.comNew momentum in Macedonia name talks?
25/06/2009
An OSCE meeting in Corfu will provide an opportunity for talks between the foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia, and UN envoy Matthew Nimetz says the time is ripe for moving the process forward. Serious obstacles remain, however.
By Marina Stojanovska for Southeast European Times in Skopje -- 25/06/09
UN-appointed mediator Matthew Nimetz will visit Skopje and Athens from July 6th to 9th in search of a solution to the long-running name dispute between Greece and its northern neighbour, the Republic of Macedonia.
The two sides resumed talks this week in Geneva after a four-month hiatus. The discussions were in preparation for next months' meetings, Nimetz said, and no new proposal was put forward.
However, both countries "expressed willingness to talk and to find a solution", the envoy said. "Now is a good time to move the negotiation process forward," he added.
On Thursday (June 25th), Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki said he sees the possibility of fresh momentum. Speaking at a press conference with visiting Slovak Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak, he suggested the upcoming OSCE ministerial conference in Corfu could provide an opportunity to jumpstart the dialogue.
"A new dynamics and pace" are possible, the foreign minister said. The country's prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, has said he "wishes [for] things to go in a positive direction".
Despite the optimistic tone, however, fundamental sticking points remain. Greece says an acceptable name would be one that includes a geographic reference, such as "north", and would be used internationally.
Its neighbour, however, says that countries which already call it "Republic of Macedonia" should continue to do so.
"The solution must not be imposed on the countries which recognised us under our constitutional name, and there are more than 120," Macedonian negotiator Zoran Jolevski said. Any deal, he added, must neither compromise national identity nor violate Macedonia's constitution.
Milososki has dismissed the idea of a geographical reference as unnecessary. And Gruevski says a negotiated agreement would have to be put before the citizens in a referendum.
Greece, meanwhile, continues to accuse the neighbouring country of maintaining an inflexible attitude, and of not really being committed to resolving the issue.
Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis says she expects "authorities in Skopje to show a different political approach", one which is oriented towards a mutually acceptable solution.
She confirmed that the Macedonian government has requested a meeting between herself and Milososki during the OSCE session in Corfu, and said she will try to arrange it.