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Sat, Nov 21 2009
Hopes for resumption of name dispute talks
Greek foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis
Photo: Harald Dettenborn
Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski
Macedonia is ready to resume talks with Greece to achieve a compromise in the name dispute and if a compromise is reached, it will be put to a referendum, Macedonia Radio and Television (MRT) quoted prime minister Nikola Gruevski as saying.
In a June 1 2009 report, MRT quoted Gruevski as saying that his country was doing everything in its power to find a solution that would not harm state and national interests.
Athens and Skopje are locked in a prolonged dispute over the use of the name Macedonia. Greece last year blocked an invitation being issued to Macedonia to join Nato and has said it will obstruct Macedonia’s EU membership hopes until the dispute is resolved.
In return, Macedonia is taking Greece to international court over the Nato issue, alleging that Greece is violating bilateral accords. United Nations-brokered attempts to resolve the dispute have failed, and Macedonia has said that it will not accept a "geographical element" in a compromise name – meaning that it is opposed to a formulation such as "Northern Macedonia".
Recent reports, quoting leaders in Athens and Skopje, have indicated that new efforts to achieve a compromise are to begin after Greece completes its European Parliament elections on June 7 2009.
On May 31 2009, in an interview with Thessaloniki newspaper Macedonia, Greek foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis said that the issue had "stagnated" after the Nato summit, and that this was because of what she called the "intransigent stance" of the government in Skopje.
Bakoyannis said that she hoped that when talks resumed under UN mediator Matthew Nimetz, "they (Skopje) will see that they cannot deprive their people of this future and will abandon their inflexible stance.
"We remain in these negotiations with optimism and determination. We are seeking a solution based on a compound name, with a geographical qualifier, that will be used by everyone, and we are doing so with the same self-confidence and the same clear positions," Bakoyannis said, according to a transcript of the interview on the Greek foreign ministry website.
She said that the international community had sent Skopje "a clear message of understanding and cooperation; a message that calls upon them to contribute to reaching a mutually acceptable solution on the name issue and move ahead – as is their people’s desire – towards a European and Euroatlantic future of security and development".
Macedonia’s Sitel television channel reported US ambassador in Skopje Philip Reeker as saying that it was "time for creative work, time for concentration, time for leadership and finding a way for solving the name issue".
On May 29, US deputy secretary of state James Steinberg said that given his impressions from the meetings with senior officials from both countries, he hoped that the governments in Skopje and Athens would overcome the dispute, Voice of America reported.
"We believe this is very important. It gives an opportunity to Skopje and the leadership to take a deserved place in the European integration and become part of Nato. We hope there will be a real, intensified focus - both in Athens and in Skopje - to come to creative resolution of the problem to ensure that integration process continues," Steinberg said.
He emphasised that the US supported Nimetz’s efforts to help the two countries find a mutually acceptable solution.
Steinberg said that he was encouraged by the meetings he had in Athens, as he was reassured that Greek leadership would like to see Macedonia anchored in the Euro-Atlantic community.
In a June 1 2009 report, MRT quoted Gruevski as saying that his country was doing everything in its power to find a solution that would not harm state and national interests.
Athens and Skopje are locked in a prolonged dispute over the use of the name Macedonia. Greece last year blocked an invitation being issued to Macedonia to join Nato and has said it will obstruct Macedonia’s EU membership hopes until the dispute is resolved.
In return, Macedonia is taking Greece to international court over the Nato issue, alleging that Greece is violating bilateral accords. United Nations-brokered attempts to resolve the dispute have failed, and Macedonia has said that it will not accept a "geographical element" in a compromise name – meaning that it is opposed to a formulation such as "Northern Macedonia".
Recent reports, quoting leaders in Athens and Skopje, have indicated that new efforts to achieve a compromise are to begin after Greece completes its European Parliament elections on June 7 2009.
On May 31 2009, in an interview with Thessaloniki newspaper Macedonia, Greek foreign minister Dora Bakoyannis said that the issue had "stagnated" after the Nato summit, and that this was because of what she called the "intransigent stance" of the government in Skopje.
Bakoyannis said that she hoped that when talks resumed under UN mediator Matthew Nimetz, "they (Skopje) will see that they cannot deprive their people of this future and will abandon their inflexible stance.
"We remain in these negotiations with optimism and determination. We are seeking a solution based on a compound name, with a geographical qualifier, that will be used by everyone, and we are doing so with the same self-confidence and the same clear positions," Bakoyannis said, according to a transcript of the interview on the Greek foreign ministry website.
She said that the international community had sent Skopje "a clear message of understanding and cooperation; a message that calls upon them to contribute to reaching a mutually acceptable solution on the name issue and move ahead – as is their people’s desire – towards a European and Euroatlantic future of security and development".
Macedonia’s Sitel television channel reported US ambassador in Skopje Philip Reeker as saying that it was "time for creative work, time for concentration, time for leadership and finding a way for solving the name issue".
On May 29, US deputy secretary of state James Steinberg said that given his impressions from the meetings with senior officials from both countries, he hoped that the governments in Skopje and Athens would overcome the dispute, Voice of America reported.
"We believe this is very important. It gives an opportunity to Skopje and the leadership to take a deserved place in the European integration and become part of Nato. We hope there will be a real, intensified focus - both in Athens and in Skopje - to come to creative resolution of the problem to ensure that integration process continues," Steinberg said.
He emphasised that the US supported Nimetz’s efforts to help the two countries find a mutually acceptable solution.
Steinberg said that he was encouraged by the meetings he had in Athens, as he was reassured that Greek leadership would like to see Macedonia anchored in the Euro-Atlantic community.
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Macedonia name dispute talks remain at ‘dead end’
Greece has not accepted the amended ‘Republic of North Macedonia’ usage proposal, while UN mediator Matthew Nimetz is scheduled to hear Skopje’s response on August 20 2009.
Macedonia name dispute talks resume on June 22
At meeting in Geneva, UN mediator Matthew Nimetz will ask representatives of Athens and Skopje how they see the way forward to resolve the long-standing dispute.
Greek election result could have impact on name dispute – reports
Expectations are for UN-brokered attempts to solve the Macedonia name dispute to resume soon, but if losses by Greece’s ruling party in the European Parliament elections lead to the fall of the government, the process could be further delayed, a newspaper says.
Romania supports Greece in Macedonia name dispute – Basescu
Principle of good neighbourliness is an obligation for all countries whether or not they are European Union members, Romanian president Traian Basescu says during visit to Athens.
Kosovo president cancels official visit to Macedonia
Fatmir Sejdiu, who reportedly was not at Macedonian president’s inauguration so as not to offend the president of Serbia, withdraws from visit because status of the event was downgraded, reports say.
Hillary Clinton on Macedonia name dispute
Dispute must be resolved by parties themselves, but US is urging a resolution because it would be in everyone’s interest and add another member to the EU, US secretary of state says.
Skopje opposes ‘geographical’ name dispute solution
Macedonian president Gjorge Ivanov says that he expects renewed talks after Greece’s European Parliament elections and that Skopje is ready for ‘reasonable compromise’ – but this does not mean a name with a geographical prefix.
More in this category
Macedonia offers olive branch to Bulgaria
Under pressure from Brussels on the name issue dispute with Greece, Skopje seeks to re-build relationship with with Sofia.
Kosovo’s governing coalition breaks up – reports
Parties that governed together in Pristina fall out because of their battle in Kosovo’s local government elections.
Regional fallout from Macedonia name dispute
Media reports say that the EU will pressure Athens and Skopje to come up with a solution to the Macedonia name dispute by December 7, or Brussels will take a cooler approach to Macedonia’s EU hopes; while a row breaks out in Belgrade after Serbia’s foreign minister takes sides in the dispute.
A special purpose base
Russia’s planned humanitarian base in Serbia could hold deeper strategic interests
Renewed bank re-assurances for Romania despite stalled bailout-mandated reforms
The IMF has withdrawn its mission, which was due to assess Romania's compliance with the terms of the bailout, and now expects Romania to miss the fiscal deficit target set by the bailout agreement.
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This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained .
Threatening people with "disappearance" (Wake Up Noob)
sounds uncommonly like the Nazis with their "Vernichtungsdrohungen"
against the Jews in pre-War Europe.
Anyway, I've now found out what "noob" means. It is a mis-spelling of the German "Knube", or a very flavoursome sweet dumpling only served at Christmas.
Hi there! everyone is "en forme"
Aristo is fine so is "wake up noob"
megale daskale, so why worry
carry on boys.
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Wake up Noob - I am sorry, but Spela was right. You are expressing yourself with the violence of an uneducated man.
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Stop trying to interject your Greek and Bulgarin views into Macedonian reality. Macedonia comprises of Macedonians period!
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You cannot negociate with History, Mikroskopjian Spela.
MACEDONIA IS GREEK ALL THE WAY AND FOR THE ETERNITY
There is an english outside your Oxford dictionary (which isn't the best by the way). You have to learn the popular language as well, and expressions like "noob", or else you just know one part of the english language.
Also those calculs are unavailable. You traficate the number and the statistics as well.
The one calcul is the historic one, that means Macedonia is greek since 3000. No compromise on it.
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It seems you turned to be out of subject and lazy to developp your arguments. I conclude you finally accepted Macedonia is a greek province which exists since 3000 years and FYROM a geographical aberration.
Finally you woke up. Thank you.
Best Regards.
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It seems you turned to be out of subject and lazy to developp your arguments. I conclude you finally accepted Macedonia is a greek province which exists since 3000 years and FYROM a geographical aberration.
Finally you woke up. Thank you.
Best Regards.
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1936? You came a bit late there...
Macedonia is a greek province which exists since 3000 years.
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...and Skopje was a greek city since the antic times and all the cities in actual FYROM were built by Greece, when Slav's were absent from this region and didn't exist at that time.
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To curious: Where in the history books does it say Macedonia was a slavic province before Tito gave this name to this ex-yugoslavic territory ?
Also in every history books you will learn Macedonia is Greek since 3000 years. If you don't read this, then your book is falsified and a fyromian one...
Ok, a small part of the old Macedonia territory was in Vardar, an old greek province, now slavic.
FYRom can call their country in whatever name they wish, but the biggest part was and is still nowadays in Greece, including the historical capital, Pella, where Alexander was. This thing will remain unchanged. Macedonia is federated to Greece forever. Macedonia is GREEK!
to Macedonia is Greek: Where in the history books does it say Macedonia was a Greek province before 1913?
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Alexander, not Greek?
Well: Alexander was born in Macedonia, a greek province since its origins. Alexander spoke greek. His mother and father were both Greeks. "Alexandros" is a greek name. He diffused the hellenism in the entire macedonian empire. Pella is a greek city and still exists in... Greece.
What else can I add?
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A few & simple explanations about why Macedonia is Greek are on this video. I think it tells everything and any further explanations are unecessary...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oHivXjiX_w&feature=PlayList&p=885604E44484F251&index=1
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