New US Ambassador Pledges To Help Macedonia

US Embassy in Skopje | Photo by: Balkan Insight

The new ambassador is expected to come in Skopje in early September, replacing Philip Reeker, ambassador since 2008.

“I will return to Macedonia during an important period,” Wohlers told the US Senate, noting that the country this year marked 20 years of independence and 10 years since the signing of the Framework Agreement, the deal that ended the country’s civil conflict in 2001.

“The Framework Agreement, concluded with US and EU help, remains the foundation for Macedonia’s peace and democratic development,” stated Wohlers who spent time in Macedonia as chargé d’affaires at the US embassy.

Saying that Macedonia had done much to maintain a stable multi-ethnic democracy, he noted that much more remained to be done.

"While democratic structures are in place, full respect for the rule of law and independent institutions remains a problem," he said. 

"An independent judiciary, free and independent media, and strong civil society are vital cornerstones for all democracies, and we have concerns about Macedonia’s development in these areas," he added.   

"Now is time for the people of Macedonia, along with their leaders, to focus on moving towards greater prosperity, security, stability, and Euro-Atlantic integration," he continued.

Pledging to protect US interests in Macedonia, he added that his priority would be “working to advance Macedonia’s own internal transformation on the path to full Euro-Atlantic integration”.

Wohler said that in this regard he would continue to support efforts to find a mutually acceptable compromise between Macedonia and neighbouring Greece over the country's name, to which Greece objects.

The dispute over the name is blocking Macedonia's path to NATO and EU membership. Greece argues that use of the name "Macedonia" implies a territorial claim againsts its own northern province of the same name.

Wohlers, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently serves as Deputy Executive Secretary at the US Department of State.  

Earlier in his career, he held diplomatic postings at US embassies in Bucharest, Moscow, and Nicosia.

Menawhile, ambassador Reeker is preparing to leave the country. After being greeted by President George Ivanov earlier this month on the occasion of his leave, on Thursday he had a farewell meeting with Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki.

Reeker is expected to become US deputy State Secretary in Charge for Southern and Central Europe.