“I am very sorry you are still not a member of the Alliance. Nevertheless I congratulate you for your exceptional contribution to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan and I thank you for your partnership with the US,” said US President Barack Obama at the meeting with Macedonian President Gjorgje Ivanov before the meeting of heads of delegations of the A5 countries. The process of overcoming the name issue was tabled at the meeting too. President Obama stressed on that occasion that the US remains dedicated to resolving this issue as soon as possible with a mutually acceptable solution.

“The USA is ready to help,” President Obama stressed.

Macedonia President Ivanov pointed out that the Republic of Macedonia was the country looking for a solution and suffering consequences because of the imposed dispute. The US effort in this process is very important for Macedonia, he said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had similar messages as President Obama. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman van Rompuy also reiterated the position to continue supporting Macedonia’s European integration and seeking out a rapid resolution of the name issue with the aim of setting Macedonia a date for opening accession talks as soon as possible. The name issue was the talking point at the meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel too.

President Ivanov met also with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who apologized for the problems with the UN register and emphasized that the world organization had full respect for the Macedonian language.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai expressed gratitude for Macedonia’s contribution to the ISAF mission, while Turkish President Abdullah Gul expressed Turkey’s unconditional support for Macedonia. Ivanov refused to say if any of the world leaders he met said they would finally put pressure on Greece.