The aim of the renaming of the Skopje airport into "Alexander the Great" is not to provoke Greece; this was done for purely commercial reasons. This was the position that the Macedonian state leadership presented to Matthew Nimetz, UN mediator in the name dispute, in Skopje on Saturday. Nimetz was also told that the last concession that Macedonia can make as regards the name is the double formula, that is, the constitutional name for international use and a mutually acceptable name for the bilateral communication with Greece.

Nimetz arrived in Skopje directly from Athens, but he said that he was not bringing with him a new proposal for the name. His mission was to convey Greece's positions on the name and the renaming of the airport and to hear Macedonia's arguments.