WE ARE READY FOR NEW ROUND OF TALKS
admin1 – January 10, 2011 – 2:54pm

Macedonia is ready to enter the new round of talks for finding a mutually acceptable solution to the name issue, said the Macedonian Ambassador to the USA, Zoran Jolevski, following the announcements that after a break of nearly a year a new meeting would take place in New York on 9 February between mediator Nimetz and the negotiators of Macedonia and Greece.

“The Republic of Macedonia is ready at any time, in any format and at any place to meet mediator Nimetz and my colleague Vassilakis so that we can share views of how we can solve the open issue with our southern neighbor. Macedonia is sincerely ready to enter these talks to find a mutually acceptable solution that will protect the identity and dignity of the Macedonians,” Ambassador Jolevski, who is also negotiator in the name issue talks, said in his interview with The Voice of America.

The Greek media, on the other hand, citing government sources, have recently said that this was going to be an informal meeting to test the situation. Greece insists that the resolution of the name issue is a precondition for Macedonia’s membership of NATO and the EU and remains on the position that there should be a new name with a geographic qualifier for all use.

Talking about Macedonia’s relations with the USA last year, Jolevski said the relations were good and announced a new impulse in 2011.

“One of the priorities in the work of the Macedonian Embassy is enhancing the cooperation between the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia and the US Congress. We plan visits of Macedonian MPs to Washington and we are also going to try to bring a few senators and congressmen to Macedonia,” he said,

Ambassador Jolevski pointed out that a few investment funds announced entrance into Macedonia and that the main goal in 2011 was strengthening the export of Macedonian goods to the US market. He also informed that the Macedonian delegation at the prayer breakfast in Washington in February would be led by President Gjorge Ivanov and that the occasion would also be used for lobbying at the Congress.