Athens-Skopje Talks “Focus on Name Alone”

Dimitris Droutsas

“We want an agreement and this is what we are concentrating on,” Droutsas said in an interview for A1 TV.

He noted that discussions on other issues, like the matter of Macedonian identity, are not part of the mandate of the UN negotiations and that they could only set back the talks.

Droutsas argued that Macedonia is a geographic region and that most of this region now belongs to Greece, part belongs to Bulgaria “and the third part is your country”

Any agreement “must mirror this reality”, he said, adding that the best way to do that is with a name that includes a geographic qualifier, as Greece has proposed.

Droutsas was firm that the compromise name must be used at all times and not only in relations with Greece, which Macedonia has suggested.

Athens and Skopje are locked in a long lasting spat over the use of the name Macedonia. Athens insists that the name implies territorial claims over Greece's northern province, also called Macedonia. Athens has blocked Skopje’s entry into NATO and its bid to enter the EU over the spat.

Skopje sees Athens' pressure as humilating and is concerned that a change to the country's name could challenge its identity.

On Monday the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted to the latest interview that EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele gave to A1 TV in which the commissioner referred to the country as Macedonia.

The Ministry urged Fuele to use the UN reference for the country- the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, FYROM- in order not to convey false signals to Skopje regarding the name talks.

In the interview Fuele said that he was optimistic that a solution to the spat could be found by June. He said that he had been assured by both sides that they are determined to resolve the issue.

Last month the UN mediator in the dispute, Matthew Nimetz, flew to Athens and Skopje to revive the name talks, but he revealed little about the content of his discussions.

Macedonian FM Antonio Milososki last week announced that Nimetz is expected to summon both sides to New York shortly to continue the talks.

Media have speculated in the past that some variation of the name Northern Macedonia might be on the table.