Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski is waiting for the outcome from mediator Matthew Nimetz’s meeting with the Greek state leadership before calling a leaders’ meeting with representatives of the major political parties at which the name issue talks would be discussed. According to government sources, it is possible for Gruevski to call such a meeting as early as this weekend, because of the pressure coming primarily from the ethnic Albanian party in office and the entire opposition.

At the parliamentary meeting Thursday at which MPs posed questions, the prime minister said that the state leadership was waiting for the Greek red lines in the talks, which concern the naming of the Macedonian identity, language and nation, but did not say anything about the line that Macedonia would refuse to cross in the negotiating process. He explained that the mediator realized how “delicate” the state of the talks was.

“Greece is intent upon denying the Macedonian identity, language and the name of the Macedonian nation. This is their so-called red line in which there is almost no room for talks,” Gruevski said.

As the prime minister explained, Nimetz only collected information at the meetings in Skopje and offered ideas about the problem, but did not offer a concrete proposal, because he had not yet met the Greek authorities.