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Macedonia Says 'Framework' for ‘Name’ Solution is Reached
Macedonia and Greece have agreed a 'framework' for a compromise solution to their bilateral name dispute – but it needs more work, Macedonia's Foreign Minister said on a visit to Brussels.
Macedonian Foreign Minister, Nikola Dimitrov, said after meeting his Greek counterpart, Nikos Kotzias, on Sunday in Brussels, that the two sides had reached a framework for a solution to the dispute over Macedonia's name – but it needed more work.
“We have a framework that needs more work and at the moment legal teams from both ministries are working on it,” Dimitrov told Macedonia’s state MIA news agency on Monday.
Not disclosing any specifics of the framework, Dimitrov said that in light of a possible breakthrough, an “important” meeting was planned between the two prime ministers, Macedonia’s Zoran Zaev and Greece’s Alexis Tsipras, for the middle of this week, “where I hope that some important things will be decided, from the options that are at the table”.
On Monday and Tuesday in Brussels, Dimitrov and Kotzias attend the EU Foreign Affairs Council where, at the margins, they were expected to resume their bilateral talks.
The last round of UN-sponsored talks on Thursday and Friday in New York, held in the presence of the UN mediator, Matthew Nimetz, ended without a breakthrough.
In the absence of much official information, media reports have speculated that the adjectives New, Upper, Northern or Vardarska - stemming from Macedonia’s biggest river, the Vardar – before the word Macedonia, had been discussed.
The two sides have also yet to agree on the span of use of any possible compromise name.
But in her remarks on Monday, at the start of the Foreign Affairs Council, the EU’s Foreign Affairs Commissioner, Federica Mogherini, said the progress made at the Athens-Skopje talks was very encouraging.
“We are all very encouraged by the progress made especially on the negotiations between Skopje and Athens on the name issue. We will all work to support and accompany, hopefully, a positive outcome of these important negotiations,” Mogherini said.
On Monday morning, Mogherini had a working breakfast with Macedonia’s Dimitrov and with the foreign ministers of EU member states.
During the breakfast, EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn tweeted his “Thanks to @NikosKotzias and @Dimitrov_Nikola for their constructive, hard work!” adding that “Everyone expressed wholehearted support to the negotiations”.
Hahn continued by saying that there was a “consensus in the room that a solution to the name issue will be a game changer for the next steps in the EU accession process” of Macedonia.
The "name" dispute centres on Greece's insistence that use of the word Macedonia implies a territorial claim to the northern Greek province of the same name.
Athens insists that a new name must be found that makes a clear distinction between the Greek province and the country.
As a result of the unresolved dispute, Greece blocked Macedonia’s NATO entry in 2008 and it also blocked the start of Macedonia’s EU accession talks, despite several positive annual reports from the European Commission on the country’s progress.
Macedonia hopes that by solving the dispute soon, it could get invitation to join NATO and green light for start of its EU accession talks as soon as this year.
Macedonia Says 'Framework' for ‘Name’ Solution is Reached
Macedonia and Greece have agreed a 'framework' for a compromise solution to their bilateral name dispute – but it needs more work, Macedonia's Foreign Minister said on a visit to Brussels.
Macedonian Foreign Minister, Nikola Dimitrov, said after meeting his Greek counterpart, Nikos Kotzias, on Sunday in Brussels, that the two sides had reached a framework for a solution to the dispute over Macedonia's name – but it needed more work.
“We have a framework that needs more work and at the moment legal teams from both ministries are working on it,” Dimitrov told Macedonia’s state MIA news agency on Monday.
Not disclosing any specifics of the framework, Dimitrov said that in light of a possible breakthrough, an “important” meeting was planned between the two prime ministers, Macedonia’s Zoran Zaev and Greece’s Alexis Tsipras, for the middle of this week, “where I hope that some important things will be decided, from the options that are at the table”.
On Monday and Tuesday in Brussels, Dimitrov and Kotzias attend the EU Foreign Affairs Council where, at the margins, they were expected to resume their bilateral talks.
The last round of UN-sponsored talks on Thursday and Friday in New York, held in the presence of the UN mediator, Matthew Nimetz, ended without a breakthrough.
In the absence of much official information, media reports have speculated that the adjectives New, Upper, Northern or Vardarska - stemming from Macedonia’s biggest river, the Vardar – before the word Macedonia, had been discussed.
The two sides have also yet to agree on the span of use of any possible compromise name.
But in her remarks on Monday, at the start of the Foreign Affairs Council, the EU’s Foreign Affairs Commissioner, Federica Mogherini, said the progress made at the Athens-Skopje talks was very encouraging.
“We are all very encouraged by the progress made especially on the negotiations between Skopje and Athens on the name issue. We will all work to support and accompany, hopefully, a positive outcome of these important negotiations,” Mogherini said.
On Monday morning, Mogherini had a working breakfast with Macedonia’s Dimitrov and with the foreign ministers of EU member states.
During the breakfast, EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn tweeted his “Thanks to @NikosKotzias and @Dimitrov_Nikola for their constructive, hard work!” adding that “Everyone expressed wholehearted support to the negotiations”.
Hahn continued by saying that there was a “consensus in the room that a solution to the name issue will be a game changer for the next steps in the EU accession process” of Macedonia.
The "name" dispute centres on Greece's insistence that use of the word Macedonia implies a territorial claim to the northern Greek province of the same name.
Athens insists that a new name must be found that makes a clear distinction between the Greek province and the country.
As a result of the unresolved dispute, Greece blocked Macedonia’s NATO entry in 2008 and it also blocked the start of Macedonia’s EU accession talks, despite several positive annual reports from the European Commission on the country’s progress.
Macedonia hopes that by solving the dispute soon, it could get invitation to join NATO and green light for start of its EU accession talks as soon as this year.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-g...-idUSKCN1IT1CY
Greece, Macedonia edge closer towards resolving name dispute
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and Macedonia have edged closer in their efforts to resolve a decades-old dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name, with their foreign ministers drafting documents which could pave the way for a settlement.
Greece has long opposed Macedonia’s right to call itself that, saying it amounts to a territorial claim on a northern Greek region of the same name. The dispute has blocked Macedonia’s bid to join NATO and the European Union.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said he and his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov had concluded their talks on the issue and that the two prime ministers would take it up after some legal details had been addressed.
“The documents that have been drafted at a ministerial level will be delivered to the two prime ministers who will discuss between themselves and reach a final deal,” said Kotzias after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. He gave no details on what had been agreed in his talks with Dimitrov.
Greece and Macedonia are racing to reach a deal before an EU summit in late June, which may open the way for Macedonia’s eventual membership.
After meeting his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev in Sofia earlier this month, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the two countries have covered a great part of the distance and could meet again next month if there was enough progress
Greece, Macedonia edge closer towards resolving name dispute
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and Macedonia have edged closer in their efforts to resolve a decades-old dispute over the former Yugoslav republic’s name, with their foreign ministers drafting documents which could pave the way for a settlement.
Greece has long opposed Macedonia’s right to call itself that, saying it amounts to a territorial claim on a northern Greek region of the same name. The dispute has blocked Macedonia’s bid to join NATO and the European Union.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said he and his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov had concluded their talks on the issue and that the two prime ministers would take it up after some legal details had been addressed.
“The documents that have been drafted at a ministerial level will be delivered to the two prime ministers who will discuss between themselves and reach a final deal,” said Kotzias after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels. He gave no details on what had been agreed in his talks with Dimitrov.
Greece and Macedonia are racing to reach a deal before an EU summit in late June, which may open the way for Macedonia’s eventual membership.
After meeting his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev in Sofia earlier this month, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the two countries have covered a great part of the distance and could meet again next month if there was enough progress
NOTE: Racial slurs in the below article from the Greek media have been edited and noted in Italic
http://greece.greekreporter.com/2018...ime-ministers/
Macedonia Name Deal Now in the Hands of the Two Prime Ministers
The Macedonian name agreement has been passed from the hands of foreign ministers to the prime ministers level, said Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on Monday, following talks with Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov.
The two officials met in Brussels with the intermediation of United Nations representative Matthew Nimetz. Kotzias told reporters, after the meeting, that technical and legal issues will be discussed over the next few days, according to the Athens News Agency (ANA).
After the technical level talks, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Macedonian counterpart will make the final negotiations on the naming issue.
“As soon as the technical and legal issues have been clarified and the texts are prepared at the level of foreign ministers, they will be given to the two prime ministers, who will discuss with each other and reach a final agreement,” Kotzias said.
Earlier, Dimitrov, in statements to the MIA agency, said the foreign ministers of the two countries had reached a compromise.
“We had a productive meeting and we have a compromise framework text to be drafted today,” Dimitrov told MIA.
Maximos Mansion suggests “patience”
“The two foreign ministers have made significant progress, but the negotiations are not over — they are at their most crucial turning point,” a government official knowledgeable of the Macedonian name negotiations told ANA.
“Some people are hurrying to say hop, even before Macedonia jumps the ditch. Patience and coolness until the June Summit,” the Greek official said.
Macedonia Name Deal Now in the Hands of the Two Prime Ministers
The Macedonian name agreement has been passed from the hands of foreign ministers to the prime ministers level, said Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on Monday, following talks with Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov.
The two officials met in Brussels with the intermediation of United Nations representative Matthew Nimetz. Kotzias told reporters, after the meeting, that technical and legal issues will be discussed over the next few days, according to the Athens News Agency (ANA).
After the technical level talks, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Macedonian counterpart will make the final negotiations on the naming issue.
“As soon as the technical and legal issues have been clarified and the texts are prepared at the level of foreign ministers, they will be given to the two prime ministers, who will discuss with each other and reach a final agreement,” Kotzias said.
Earlier, Dimitrov, in statements to the MIA agency, said the foreign ministers of the two countries had reached a compromise.
“We had a productive meeting and we have a compromise framework text to be drafted today,” Dimitrov told MIA.
Maximos Mansion suggests “patience”
“The two foreign ministers have made significant progress, but the negotiations are not over — they are at their most crucial turning point,” a government official knowledgeable of the Macedonian name negotiations told ANA.
“Some people are hurrying to say hop, even before Macedonia jumps the ditch. Patience and coolness until the June Summit,” the Greek official said.
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