Ahmeti: Macedonia Needs International Support

The dispute is hampering Macedonia’s attempts to join NATO and the EU for more than three years.

In 2008, Macedonia fulfilled key requirements to be considered eligible for NATO membership however politicians from Greece blocked it from joining at the Bucharest NATO Summit the same year.

One year later, after the European Commission recommended starting Macedonia’s accession talks, Greece again stood in its path.

Two conflicting views lie at the heart of the dispute. Greece insists that Macedonia’s name implies territorial claims towards one of its own provinces, which also carries the same name. Macedonia, which has been independent since 1991, asserts the right to decide on its own name.

To break the gridlock, Ahmeti recommended holding an international conference where diplomats and politicians from other countries could help facilitate discussions.

“Increased international help in resolving the name dispute with Greece would be the last step towards securing peace in Macedonia and the region,” Ahmeti said at the anniversary of the Ohrid Peace Accord on the weekend.

The best way of achieving a quick compromise with Greece, Ahmeti said, “would be through the formation of a group” of international politicians and diplomats “that would resemble that led by [Martti] Ahtisaari, and the groups which led to the Dayton and Rambouillet [peace agreements]”.

Martti Ahtisaari was a UN Special Envoy at the Kosovo status process negotiations, aimed at resolving a long-running dispute in Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008.

Until now, UN-led talks aimed at finding a settlement which have been practically frozen with no substantial talks being held for almost one year and no date set for a fresh round of discussions. Former Macedonian ambassador to Vatican and Slovenia, Dimitar Mircev said that “in principle, Ahmeti’s proposal for forming an international group from the region that would help in finding a solution is acceptable”.

However, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Reeker, said that those most responsible for solving the issue are the countries involved in it. 

"You must settle this issue by yourselves. We saw the prime ministers of both countries meet and we salute this, hoping for a solution to this long-standing issue. Our position is well-known, and I would suggest that you ask the country's leaders what they are doing to overcome this problem".
 
Last year the Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and his Greek counterpart George Papandreou met several times at brief direct talks. However, media reported their encounters only as courtesy moves without substantial significance for the name talks.