Macedonia Hands 'Name' Reply to UN Envoy

| 29 October 2008 |

US State Dept Official Stuart E. Jones (left), Macedonia Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki (right) at a press conference on Tuesday

Skopje _ Macedonia’s negotiators in the UN-sponsored “name” talks with Greece, are to hand Skopje’s remarks regarding the latest proposal for settling the row to the chief mediator.

Nikola Dimitrov and Martin Protogjer will meet United Nations mediator Matthew Nimetz to brief him on Macedonia’s objections to his latest set of ideas, local MIA news agency reported.

The negotiators will present to Nimetz the “line of Macedonian national interests,” Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki told local media on Tuesday stopping short of revealing details about the remarks.

According to media in both Athens and Skopje, the fresh proposal envisaged Skopje’s wider use of the name Republic of Northern Macedonia and several possible ways to address the issue of Macedonian language and national identity.

The national identity must remain Macedonian, experts in Skopje have publicly argued during last week.

The name row should be solved with a “reasonable compromise” between Skopje and Athens, Macedonia’s President Branko Crvenkovski stated on Tuesday at a local round table.

So far Greece has been officially silent over the proposed ideas.

However last week Athens Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis reiterated that Skopje could hope for NATO and European Union accession only after settling the dispute.

In April, Athens blocked its neighbour’s bid to join NATO arguing that Macedonia must change its name first. Athens argues that Macedonia’s name implies its territorial claims over Greece’s own northern province of the same name.

The US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried, on late Monday in Washington urged Skopje leaders to hurry and use the remaining five weeks until the NATO Ministerial meeting to resolve the row.

He stated that Macedonia’s identity will not be jeopardised if Skopje accepts the latest UN proposal.

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Comments:

There could be a deal...
2008-10-29 17:16:46

"Northern Macedonia" for all uses for international and bilateral relations, including the countries that have recognised the so-called "constitutional name" of course. And there is no question about "macedonian idenity", simply because if there are some people that can claim they have macedonian idenity are the (true) greek macedonias and certainly not some Slavs who speak a bulgarian idiom. If Fyrom accepts those things, there is a deal. If not, they will keep being out of everywhere for LONG time, watching the Albanians prosper in NATO and the EU and "swalloing" them slowly...

give back what you took
2008-10-29 20:27:27

(true) greek macedonias?I'm macedonian form Lerin,but have nothing to do with been greek or bulgarian.is very simple macedonians live in norten greece(macedonia) part of bulgaria and small part of albania and Macedonia(fyrom) Sorry about my poor english...

Slavomacedonians
2008-10-29 20:46:46

It would be OK to call this country "Northern Macedonia" provided that it is made clear that the inhabitants of this Republic are Slavomacedonians, Albanians, Greeks, Serbs, Romas etc and speak their respective languages of the equivalent name. Any other solution, which leaves the language and ethnicity "hanging", must not be accepted by Greece.

pavlos
2008-10-29 22:32:44

Pavlos, you seriously need to get a life mate. You are constantly posting on here. What's going on in that subconscious mind yours?? One would think your actually in denial..

Pavlos, Allos and all your mates out there
2008-10-30 00:58:30

You people are all dilusional. You cry out that the Republic of Macedonia and it's people is spreading propagander against Greece and the real "Macedonia". What do you people call what you are doing? How old are you people? Do you all have real jobs? Or more importantly do you have lives?? STOP YOUR propagander!!!!!

Greek deniers
2008-10-30 02:56:58

You can hope all you want for "Northern Macedonia". However, who has the territorial pretensions when the Greek army exercises in Solun and incessantly chants that "Macedonia is Greek". Greece is an outcast and is deliberately destabilising the Balkan region. There will be no name change. I would be happy if there was no resolution to this dispute for the next 100 years.

give back what you took
2008-10-30 07:42:09

Not greek or Bulgarian? Right, you came from Mars, I forgot. So Mars-Macedonian may be appropriate (btw took from whom? these lands were greek long before Bulgarians appeared in the Balkans) And fyi, Macedonia ws liberated from the Turks, not anyone else.

To "Steve".
2008-10-30 08:29:13

Thanks for your good words "steve". It seems though, that you are also constanly read my postings. Next time try to answer on my "constant postings" as well if you can, rather than commenting on my life (which by the way, I am quite sure is much better than yours).

tilt! game over
2008-10-30 09:09:16

The world, Obama, space aliens hold their breath as... Skopje hands in its answer... yeah, right, LOL Events have overtaken you dear Vardar Macedonians (both Slavs and Albanians), the NATO train has departed; the EU is balking now even at Croatia, if the Greek government really wanted to play hard it would simply make the borders tighter, leading to an eco collapse, you know where... get smart quick and read up on the art of diplomacy

Oh Big Mac Steve
2008-10-30 11:59:38

Mate it's called freedom of expression...dont know if that is exercised in FYROM As for denial take a look in the mirror...

solun everybody
2008-10-30 15:58:37

somber slavs sing sad solun sonnets ... "Solun" saloons will be your undoing...

Silence of the Slavs again.
2008-10-30 20:00:06

I made a specific comment: "It would be OK to call this country "Northern Macedonia" provided that it is made clear that the inhabitants of this Republic are Slavomacedonians, Albanians, Greeks, Serbs, Romas etc and speak their respective languages of the equivalent name." Any sane opponents on this forum who can show me the error of my statements rather than guessing the quality of my lifestyle? Isn't your language Slavomacedonian? A dialect akin to Bulgarian, Serbian and some Greek which is spoken primarily by peoples inhabiting a portion of the geographic region of Macedonia and some of the immigrants in other parts of the world? Why should the Slavs monopolize the name Macedonia which is so important to Greece and its heritage and to its 2.5 million people who reside in its northern province of the same name?

Name
2008-10-30 20:00:57

What do you think? It is more important the name or the life style of the people?

@Taki
2008-10-31 11:47:17

Yes, OF COURSE Greeks chant "Macedonia is Greek". Because for Greeks Macedonia is what you call "Aegean Macedonia". Greeks call your country by many names, but Macedonia is NOT one of them. So one more reason to get a sane name for your country

what a stupid dispute
2008-10-31 14:59:48

I can not understand that any international body pays serious attention to his "problem".

Re to Ivo
2008-10-31 19:54:19

"I can not understand that any international body pays serious attention to his "problem"." Ivo ---------------------------------- US pays attention and "helps" this "problem"... not any international body. Now if you ask me why.. just ask where US governmt agreed to build the biggest US military base in Europe. Just search where the biggest military base in Europe is build/based and with who US made a deal, against ofcourse the EU interests.. Search for it and you'll understand many things.. If I was American... for sure I would turn Bulgarians to "Macedonians", Serbs Muslims and Croatian Muslims to "Bosnians", Albanians to "Kossovars" and me to "Eskimo". Search for every NEW nationality in Balkans and you'll get many things..

Helen
2008-11-01 00:01:29

Greek imperialism will always find ways to justify its annexation of Aegean Macedonia and its attempts to eradicate the native ethnic Macedonian population. Our country is the true Macedonia and the so-called "Greeks" who were transplanted to Aegean Macedonia to assist in forced assimilation are pretenders and charlatans. As for sanity, it is Greeks who constantly chant that they are "Macedonians" and then will only ever identify as "Greeks" officially and in census counts who need their sanity checked. Check out the phone book for a good list of shrinks. Republic of Macedonia it is for ever and ever and ever. Greek impostors should get out of the nationalistic drag they've been wearing for years and discover their "true selves"

WHY PAVLOS?
2008-11-01 13:48:57

Why allow them to use our culture? It is better if they continue to behave the way they do. In the end other solutions will look more proper. It is to the full interest of all the this entity ceases to exist.

2008-11-02 19:56:06

fyrom is a fake country that shouldnt exist in the first place. half of fyrom is albanian and the other half is bulgarian. albanians make up 40% of fyrom and pretty soon we are going to take it just like how we did with kosova. albania is in NATO right now, and kosova will soon also be part of it, we outnumber you slavofyromans, and you shit your pants everytime you see an albanian. remember 2001 we almost took you over in a month but nato and un stopped us and because you cried like babies. dont worry the time will come

The Albanians have never won a war in their whole history!
2008-11-03 09:54:37

You are right about Fyrom being artificial but whatever you have taken so far, you have taken it by the help of others (the americans in particular) and you have never won a single war in your whole albanian history! Your rediculous UCK, was totally destroyed by the Serbs in 1998 on the battlefield, and if the americans had not intervened they would also probably even conquer Albania! So stop pretending you are some kind of fighters because you are totally useless and probably a day will come that you will have to fight by yourselves and not some others fight for you. And when this day comes... God help you!

smoking Taki
2008-11-04 10:42:11

"Greek imperialism will always find ways to justify its annexation of Aegean Macedonia" ...from its rightfull owner, no doubt, the Ottoman empire(in case you missed it, Macedonia was liberated from the turks, not the phony macedonians who at the time were called bulgarians) " and its attempts to eradicate the native ethnic Macedonian population." ...except that population was not eradicated and considered then and now itself greek. Should we compare the treatment of those you call "grekomans", as if being greek is some kind of mania? " Our country is the true Macedonia" No, it is not. It has a small and borderline part of ancient macedonia and a population with no relation to it who has been brainwashed to forget its origins. "and the so-called "Greeks" " right, I forgot, you know better what everybody else is. "who were transplanted to Aegean Macedonia to assist in forced assimilation" great. Any more fairy tales? "As for sanity, it is Greeks who constantly chant that they are "Macedonians" and then will only ever identify as "Greeks" officially and in census counts" How hard is this to get? No matter what you are smoking it is not hard to get that Macedonians are greeks like Cretans, Peloponesians and so on. Sicilians are italians and Bavarians german. You are the ones that have no relation to Macedonia and want the name for reasons even a shrink cannot understand.

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Macedonia Hands 'Name' Reply to UN Envoy