The authorities in both Skopje and Athens are very interested in resolving the problem with the name, but they have different views as regards the resolution, UN mediator Matthew Nimetz assessed in Skopje yesterday. He discussed his last proposal for the name with the Macedonian state leadership, but he did not present a new proposal.
President Branko Crvenkovski said Wednesday that the Interim Agreement of 1995 was still in force and could be annulled provided that one of the parties stepped out of it. "The Interim Agreement stipulates that Greece should not obstruct Macedonia's membership of international organizations. Matthew Nimetz's mandate too arises from the Interim Agreement and it is for this reason that the Agreement is still in force," he said.
UN mediator Matthew Nimetz will arrive in Skopje today where he will meet with the Macedonian state leadership in an attempt to find a resolution for the name dispute. Following the meetings in Skopje, Nimetz most probably will depart for Greece where, according to unofficial reports from Athens, he will meet with Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis in Thessaloniki.
Macedonia will be extended an invitation for NATO membership whether Greece likes it or not. This is the latest information from diplomatic sources from Brussels, after the negotiations in New York proved a fiasco, reports Utrinski vesnik's Brussels-based correspondent Slobodanka Jovanovska.
Most NATO member countries believe that an invitation for membership in NATO will be extended to all three countries from the Adriatic Group at the forthcoming summit in Bucharest at the beginning of April, two senior diplomats of two NATO member countries maintain.
The NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on 6 March to prepare the conclusions that the heads of their states have to adopt at the summit in Bucharest.
"No one dare betray this people and this country, which was called and will be called Macedonia." These are the words that reverberated at the Pela Square in the center of Skopje on Wednesday, at the protest against the change of the constitutional name of the Republic of Macedonia.
The European Parliament’s Foreign Policy Committee adopted a resolution yesterday, calling on the European Union to set a date for start of the negotiations for membership of Macedonia by the end of year 2008. The resolution was adopted with 55 votes “for” and only 5 votes “against’. The EU parliamentarians called on the European Commission to set tasks for Macedonia, urging the country to fulfill these tasks quickly.
UN mediator Matthew Nimetz invited Nikola Dimitrov, Macedonia's representative in the talks on the name, and Greece's representative Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis to separate meetings in New York on Friday 29 February.
•President Crvenkovski will meet with EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Brussels today.
After three hours of talks behind closed doors, Macedonia's state leaders assumed a joint position on Sunday regarding mediator Matthew Nimetz's latest proposal for overcoming the name issue with Greece. "Macedonia stays in the process," Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki said. He refrained from revealing any details of the meeting before conveying the position to Mr. Nimetz.
UN mediator Matthew Nimetz stepped out of his mandate with part of his latest proposal for resolving of the name dispute with Greece, offering resolutions that are worse than the resolutions presented so far, President Branko Crvenkovski said yesterday at an informal meeting with journalists.
UN mediator Matthew Nimetz proposed five names for Macedonia, of which one will have to be chosen and used in the international organizations and in Macedonia's bilateral communication with Greece. The constitutional name would remain in the bilateral relations with the other countries. The proposals presented by Nimetz are: "Democratic Republic of Macedonia", "Independent Republic of Macedonia", "Constitutional Republic of Macedonia", "Republic of Upper Macedonia", and "New Republic of Macedonia".
UN mediator Matthew Nimetz presented his new proposal for resolving of the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece in Athens yesterday. But the content of this proposal will not be revealed until the political leaderships of the two countries assess the same.
NATO must open its doors, which means that there is no room for veto, a senior NATO representative said at an international conference in Skopje yesterday. The Western Balkan countries must not be left outside NATO, and the Republic of Macedonia should and deserves to enter this international organization. These are the basic messages sent from the two-day conference "NATO – Bucharest and Beyond", which was opened in Skopje yesterday.
• Macedonian Parliament hosting conference "NATO-Bucharest and Afterwards" of presidents of committees of foreign affairs of SEE, NATO and Adriatic Charter Group.
• Defense Minister Lazar Elenovski and his Adriatic Charter Group counterparts head for Washington to meet with senior US officials.
Numerous bursts fired from automatic rifles and guns accompanied the celebration of Kosovo's independence before the Skenderbeu monument in Skopje yesterday. The police forces deployed in the area did not prevent the shooting, which, fortunately, did not result in any casualties. A number of citizens complained to the police yesterday, asking that the shooting be stopped. Some people even said that bullets fell just a few meters away from them.
- Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said during his visit to Stip Thursday that Macedonia completed most of its responsibilities for joining NATO and the EU. He is optimist that Macedonia will be set a date for EU accession talks by the end of 2008.
Macedonia should participate fully in UN mediator Matthew Nimetz's process aimed at finding a resolution for the name dispute. This message was conveyed to Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the State Department informed yesterday.
Macedonia wants to receive an invitation for membership in NATO without violation of the national interests and national identity, Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki said in Washington yesterday, following the meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the media report.
Invitation for membership in NATO and rapid ratification of this invitation by the Canadian Senate; the Macedonian troops' participation in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan; and the development of the events in Kosovo were the main issues discussed between Canadian Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella and Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki, who is on an official visit to Canada.
The Macedonian state leaders are fighting a name fight on all fronts. President Branko Crvenkovski at the security forum in Munich reaffirmed Macedonia's position and reiterated that Macedonian showed huge constructiveness and flexibility in resolving the problem imposed by Greece.
UN mediator Matthew Nimetz presented a new proposal for the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece, U.S. State Department Spokesman Tom Casey said yesterday, the Macedonian electronic media report. Casey stressed that the United States hopes that this proposal could be used as a basis for a final agreement between the two countries. The United States will support any proposal that will be acceptable to both countries, he said.
By extending an invitation for membership to the countries from the Adriatic Group at the forthcoming summit in Bucharest in April this year, NATO has a chance to cement peace in the Balkans, said Bruce Jackson, president of the project "Democracies in Transition" and supporter of enlargement of NATO.
President Branko Crvenkovski asked for objective evaluation of Macedonia's achievements, the results of the reforms, and the fulfilling of the criteria necessary for accession to NATO, in the letter that he sent to the heads of the 26 NATO member countries yesterday.
Boris Tadic's reelection as president of Serbia is excellent news for the region, and it will strengthen the democratic processes, stability, and prosperity of the region. This is the Macedonian state leadership and political parties' general assessment following the election of Tadic as president of Serbia.
The Lustration Law comes into force on 5 February. It is believed that at least 3,000 public individuals – current state and local officials – will be embraced with this law. Stojan Andov, the parliamentarian who initiated this law, told UtrinskiVesnik that this figure would be bigger. He did not exclude the possibility of some individuals being forced to resign from their posts.
The National Council for EU Integration concluded at its first session yesterday that receiving a date for start of the negotiations for EU membership and canceling of the visa regime are this council's key objectives for this year. This council is chaired by SDSM leader Radmila Sekerinska, and it includes Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration Gabriela Konevska-Trajkovska and representatives of the parliamentary parties, media, nongovernmental organizations, the religious communities, trade unions, and the chambers of commerce.
EU Ambassador to Macedonia Erwan Fouere denied that the European Union promotes double standards, following the EU’s announcements on liberalization of the visa regime with Serbia and a candidate status for the country, without insisting on the strict criteria that applied to Macedonia.
