Greece-Macedonia Spat Dominates Austrian FM Visit

Following a meeting with his Macedonian counterpart Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki, Spindelegger sought to dampen expectations that he had come as a mediator in the name dispute, noting that the issue should be settled within the UN sponsored talks.

Spindelegger arrived to Skopje from Athens, where he met late Thursday with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas.
 
At a joint press conference with Droutsas, he said that the name issue is a sensitive one that needs constructive dialogue and mutual understanding from both Athens and Skopje to be solved.

In an interview with Austrian state TV ORF on Monday, Spindelegger expressed his belief that the problem would be resolved in the course of the spring, and this year Macedonia's cooperation with the EU "will yield concrete results".

On Friday, Milososki reiterated his country’s support for a mutually agreeable solution. "We are ready to resume talks with Greece in order to reach a solution that would be written in both Macedonian and Greek languages as compromise, but also translated in Macedonian and Greek languages as compromise", Milososki said.

Athens and Skopje are locked in an 18-year old dispute over the use of the name Macedonia. Athens claims that Skopje’s official name, Republic of Macedonia implies territorial claims over its own northern province, also called Macedonia.

Last month Greece prevented the EU from extending a date for the start of Macedonia’s accession talks to the bloc. In 2008 Greece blocked Macedonia’s NATO accession as well, over the same dispute.

Austria's chief diplomat and his Macedonian counterpart also signed a development cooperation agreement.