Macedonia can count on Vatican's support for Macedonia's European aspiration, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said following his audience with the head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday. The Pope and the Macedonian prime minister discussed the relations between Macedonia and the Vatican.

"We can count on the Vatican as supporter and friend of the Republic of Macedonia. We talked about the situation in Macedonia, which is a candidate for membership in the European Union," Prime Minister Gruevski said after the meeting with the Pope.

The meeting was mostly dedicated to Greece's problem with the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia. Gruevski also informed the Pope about the Macedonian Orthodox Church's dispute with the Serbian Orthodox Church.