UN mediator offers last proposal in name dispute before NATO summit

26/03/2008

A meeting of EU foreign ministers in Slovenia later this week could prove the last chance for Macedonia and Greece to end their name dispute before the start of the NATO summit in Bucharest next week.

(AP, Reuters, DPA, MIA, Makfax - 26/03/08; AP, DPA, MIA, Makfax, ANA-MPA, Balkan Insight, UN News Centre - 25/03/08)

A man rides past a wall reading 'Macedonia' in Cyrillic in central Skopje. Greece has warned it will block its neighbour's entry into NATO because of the ongoing name dispute. [Getty Images]

UN special envoy Matthew Nimetz urged Skopje and Athens on Tuesday (March 25th) to consider his new proposal for a compromise in their 17-year-long dispute about Macedonia's name, after a new round of talks failed to produce a deal.

"Both governments have a very strong desire to resolve this issue," Nimetz told reporters after his discussions with the Macedonian and Greek representatives, Nikola Dimitrov and Ademantios Vassilakis, in New York. "I think what I suggested to the parties is fair, I think it's honourable, I think it has a geographic dimension and I very much hope that both governments look at it seriously."

While he would not disclose details concerning what he described as a single proposal with no options, Nimetz voiced hope that it would provide a basis for a settlement.

A series of options he has presented in recent months has been rejected by one side or the other. They were still far apart in their positions, Nimetz said after Tuesday's talks.

Macedonia, however, hopes that a settlement can be reached before the start of NATO's three-day summit in Bucharest on April 2nd, so that it can receive an invitation to join the 26-nation pact along with Albania and Croatia.

A NATO member since 1952, Greece has threatened to block its neighbour's membership bid unless it changes its name, arguing that the name Macedonia implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of the same name.

Greece insists that Macedonia must only be referred to as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the name under which it was admitted into the UN in 1993, and the name used by most international organisations. Over the years, however, the list of countries recognising the Balkan nation by its constitutional name, the Republic of Macedonia, has grown to more than 120.

The United States, which joined that list in 2004, urged Athens and Skopje on Tuesday to try to end their row before the NATO summit.

While expressing their readiness for a compromise, Macedonian officials have made it clear that they would not seek a solution at any cost.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski voiced scepticism about the prospects of a deal being reached within the next few days.

He also warned that a Greek veto would "trigger strong frustrations amongst the Macedonian citizens" and send the negotiations into such a "profound crisis" that his country could decide to pull out of the process.

The last opportunity the two countries have for resolving their dispute before the NATO summit will be the EU foreign ministers' two-day informal meeting, opening in Brdo, Slovenia, on Friday.

Citing an unnamed NATO diplomat, Reuters reported on Wednesday that a fallback option has been discussed. It would give Skopje a conditional invitation to join the Pact, but delay ratification until a settlement is reached.