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Macedonia Troubled by Serbia“Name” Statement
Skopje, Belgrade | 21 November 2009 |![Tadic [left], Ivanov [Right] at the funeral, photo by FoNet](/apps/resizer.php?img=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.balkaninsight.com%2Fimages%2Fcms-image-000010610.jpg&h=150&constrain=1)
Tadic [left], Ivanov [Right] at the funeral, photo by FoNet
Serbia’s president Boris Tadic late Thursday sought to smooth ruffled feathers, after his foreign minister Vuk Jeremic said his country supports Greece’s position in the 18-year name row between Skopjeand Athens.
Tadic pointed out that Serbia has recongised Macedonia under its constitutional name Republic of Macedonia and that will not change. Tadic clarified this in a meeting with his Macedonian counterpart Georgi Ivanov, who was in Belgrade for the burial of Serbian Patriarch Pavle.
That same day, Jeremic at a joint press conference with this Greek counterpart said that “Serbia understands
Greece's position in the name dispute with the country whose capital is Skopje”. He avoided mentioning the
official name of the country, Republicof Macedonia, that Greecedisputes.
"We support the position of the Government of Greece, which is a reasonable, balanced and
rational," Serbia's daily newspaper Danas quoted Jeremic as saying.
Ivanov, upon hearing Jeremic’s statement, had previously in protest decided not to attend a state
reception organised for statesmen who came to the Patriarch’s burial.
Macedonian media interpreted Jeremic’s statement as a reciprocal move after Skopje last month angered Belgrade by establishing diplomatic ties with Kosovo.
During their meeting, Ivanov and Tadic marked their different views on the issue of Kosovo’s independence but pointed out that both countries have a mutual interest in preserving the peace and stability in the region.
Last year, Athens blocked Skopje’s NATO accession over the 18 years-long name spat. Athens insists that Skopje’s official name implies territorial claims towards its own northern province-- also called Macedonia.
