Macedonian lawmakers to debate “final” proposal in name dispute

18:02 Sat 29 Mar 2008 - Alex Bivol

Macedonia’s parliament will meet on March 31 to debate the latest proposals to settle the dispute over its name with neighbouring Greece, Associated Press reported on March 28.

The solution put forth by United Nations special envoy on the issue, Matthew Nimetz, has been described by Macedonia’s foreign minister Antonio Milososki as the “final proposal” in the protracted talks and comes just days before the Nato summit in Bucharest, which will start on April 2.

Macedonia hoped to secure an invitation to join the alliance, which is widely seen in the region as the first step towards joining the European Union, but Greece has threatened to veto its neighbour’s application if the issue is not settled.

Milososki is scheduled to meet with his Greek counterpart Dora Bakoyannis on March 29. Earlier this week, Bakoyannis told the AP that the proposal was “some distance from the goals we are seeking for a solution that is clear, practical”.

The name proposed by Nimetz was not revealed, but media reports, quoted by AP, said it was Republic of Macedonia (Skopje).

The country’s constitutional name is Republic of Macedonia and it has been recognised that way by dozens of countries, but international institutions, including the UN, call it the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Greece refuses to accept its neighbour’s constitutional name, saying Macedonia is the name of Northern Greece and that having Skopje use it is indicative of its implicit territorial claims over the northern Greek province.

Comments

Comments by crven53 - 21:44 30 Mar 2008
	Setting everything aside,i`m wandering is it not anybody`s democratic right to name it`s self what ever they want.And how come greece as they claim to be the "birthplace" of democracy can not accept that. Macedonians did everything they could they even changed their flag and amended the constitution in show of good will,further more they are not a member of NATO and yet still they have soldiers in both Iraq and Afganistan while on the other hand greece as one of the oldest NATO members does not have a single soldier anywhere. It realy gives you something to ponder.
Comments by A. Hamilton - 17:25 31 Mar 2008
	crven53: you exemplify everything that your country has done to play the victim in this issue and it is unfortunate that so many have been duped by this propaganda. Saying that changing your flag and constitution are some sort of compromise is a joke when you use Hellenic symbols and claim Greek lands as "the unliberated lands" in your original constitution. That's like me stealing $100 from you and saying that giving you back $50 is a great compromise. Also, you should check you facts about the Greek military in NATO. There are soldiers in Afghanistan, naval ships in Iraq and Lebanon. Please stop spreading your propaganda.