Macedonia PM Addresses 'Northern Macedonia'

However, it was not clear whether he would vote against such a motion because of the name itself or because of the provision that the name be used for all purposes.

“If the question whether we accept the name Republic of Northern Macedonia for all uses were put to a referendum, I would vote against it,” Gruevski told Macedonian media on Sunday.

Local media and observers have speculated that this name is on the table in the UN negotiations between Skopje and Athens.

Gruevski and his party, the ruling centre-right VMRO DPMNE, pledged to voters in last year’s elections that if any compromise on the name issue with Greece is reached, they would put the proposed solution to a referendum before adopting it.

“We as a government and as a political party are strongly focused on finding something that would not jeopardize our national and state interests so that the citizens can accept it in a referendum,” Gruevski told reporters.

Gruevski also noted that he expects UN name mediator Matthew Nimetz to propose an acceptable compromise solution at the next round of talks slated for May.

Skopje and Athens have been locked in a dispute over the use of the name Macedonia for nearly two decades. Athens insists that Skopje’s official name, Republic of Macedonia, implies territorial claims against its own territory.

In 2008 it blocked Skopje’s NATO entry over the unresolved spat. Last autumn Athens used the same excuse to block its neighbour from obtaining a date for the start of its EU accession talks.

While Greece said that the name “Republic of Northern Macedonia” would be acceptable if it is used for all purposes, Macedonia insists that this name should be used only in official relations with Greece.

On Friday, Macedonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs rebuffed the remarks on the name spat made the previous day by the former Greek ambassador to Macedonia and the US, Alexandros Mallias, as hypocritical.

“It is devious to see Greek red lines being presented in public as reasonable compromises. That's a follow up of the policy of unilateral approach on a bilateral issue that needs to be solved with the equal contribution of both parties.” the Foreign Ministry said.

On Thursday Mallias, speaking on behalf of the Greek think-tank ELIAMEP, said the name “Republic of Northern Macedonia”, together with the naming of the language and the nation as“Makedonski” (Macedonian) written in the Latin alphabet, could be a possible solution to the dispute.

Mallias was part of Sunday’s live simulation of the UN sponsored talks which was staged and broadcast live by Macedonian A1 TV.

The simulation included distinguished former state officials and university professors from both countries who discussed this hard issue and attempted to pinpoint possible compromise solutions.