Gjorgje Ivanov

[osiris]

opasen si som you remind me of mathew lloyd the velvet sledgehammer the smiling assassin etc etc.

[CA_RO]

Clarification

opasen si som you remind me of mathew lloyd the velvet sledgehammer the smiling assassin etc etc.

Please clarify two thing for me in regards of your comment

1.) Who are you directing that comment too?

2.) What do you mean by your comment?

Thank you osiris

Regards

Ancuta

[osiris]

my comment is directed at soldier of macedon i am saying his a deadly debater subtle but merciless

[CA_RO]

my comment is directed at soldier of macedon i am saying his a deadly debater subtle but merciless

Yes. I understand.

Thank you osiris for your quick response.

Regards

Ancuta

[Makedonetz]

Ivanov for RFE elaborates on Greece's dispute with Macedonia



There is a way out for Macedonia's EU integration process, therefore bilateral agreement with Greece exists, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov said.

- There is a way out. That's why a bilateral agreement with Greece exists, therefore it is passed for Greece not to obstruct our integration. However, I have not seen existence of wish and a kind of pressure on Greece to respect what it had accepted and signed. Other solution is Greece to finally admit the reality that a state Macedonia, Macedonian nation and Macedonian language exist, President Ivanov said in an interview with Radio Free Europe.

Ivanov considers that there are still politicians in Greece who use the rhetoric of the cold war and play on fears and prejudices at their population that by existence of the state Macedonia, a danger exists for their territory, identity.- In the 21st to open such issues and to profit from them is unserious, Ivanov said.

He said that Macedonia showed to be for good-neighbourly relations – therefore we changed the flag, the constitution and now we are in the process conducted in the UN on finding mutually acceptable solution by making best efforts and being constructive. However, we are not seeing such signal and commitment from other side. Probably they consider they should postpone and postpone this issue and as long as they approach from position of power, will have force to obstruct our integration in Euro-Atlantic structures, Ivanov said.

Answering journalist question whether Macedonia has alternative if Greece does not accept a compromise and country remains outside NATO and EU, Ivanov said that we are put in position certain structures to call and to request alternatives.

- There is no alternative for our region except what we have chosen. We have general determination and we persevere in it. Therefore we are making our best through the process led by Mr. Nimetz to come to certain solution, which will be mutually acceptable. But we cannot accept solutions offered by Greece to be placed as mutually acceptable solutions, i.e. Greek proposals to be presented to us that should be ours too, Ivanov said.

Regarding the name issue, Ivanov said that there is no open pressure from the international factors for compromise with Greece.

- There is a pointing out that a solution should be found. We are aware that a solution must be found and therefore we say we are in a need of solution. Greece does not need a solution, and we do not feel that Greece is making something for finding swift solution. It is in its favour. Maybe the strategy Greece had towards Cyprus is applied with us also. It prolongs the problem. It simply creates an environment that it will last as long as conditions are created to come to something which will be in their favour, Ivanov said.

We, Ivanov said, are making everything to point out that international law, what is in the UN resolutions and charter, should be valid for us as for everyone.- As a state we also have a need of dignity, pride and respect of the international order, President Ivanov said in an interview with Radio Free Europe.


Good article and rebuttle, hopefully Mr Ivanov can get the discussions on the right track regarding this matter.

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/14761/2/

[MakOdToronto]

Thanks for finding that, Makedonetz.
He makes sense, and points out: "there is no open pressure from the international factors for compromise with Greece." and "now we are in the process conducted in the UN on finding mutually acceptable solution by making best efforts and being constructive."

Here they are saying that Gruevski ignores Ivanov. All this "name" debate is inflated by the media who have nothing better to do, and to keep the politics on edge so the politicians can keep running their lucrative business in power.

[Makedonetz]

Da

What if we got all 127 country's to throw in their hats seeing we are reconized as Republic Of Macedonia.....i think that should be a tool we could use for our arguments with Greece.

[Mikail]

I heard on Saturday night we now have 130 countries recognising us. Gives us a majority of the UN parliament.

[Bill77]

I heard on Saturday night we now have 130 countries recognising us. Gives us a majority of the UN parliament.

Toa e dobro brat. ama dali ovie zemji imat madina da mu gi skrshat merako na grcite pred nim vo UN?

jaska mislam nekoj od nim skrishno ne priznavat ama ako doj vreme za glasajne, ke omeknat pred grko kako amerikansite.

[Prolet]

We were 127 how did we get to 130??

Morocco recognized us in 2002 when we established diplomatic relations, who are the 3 countries that recognized us? It seems the Government is keeping their cards close to their chest.

[Bill77]

We were 127 how did we get to 130??

Morocco recognized us in 2002 when we established diplomatic relations, who are the 3 countries that recognized us? It seems the Government is keeping their cards close to their chest.

Do you blame them? or do you think they should be upfront and name them all?

[Prolet]

Bill, Maybe the Greek side has ran out of those plastic garbage bags to fill up full money.

This is why you wont find a list of countries that have recognized us on the MNR website.

[Pelister]

Good article and rebuttle, hopefully Mr Ivanov can get the discussions on the right track regarding this matter.

http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/14761/2/

If the negotiation process is a political vehicle that is designed to get the Macedonians to commit political suicide, why would you endorse such a thing?

If this 'process' is in fact keeping the question of our political extermination, not only alive but actually possible, why do Macedonians insist it is necessary?

[Frank]

Please people comment on this Balkaninsight article

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/main/comment/28770/#add_comment

Only Europe Can Complete the ‘Macedonian Project

[Risto the Great]

It’s not the EU that needs Macedonia; it’s Macedonia that needs the EU. Attempts to suggest there is another “way” are dangerous for a small country that needs big friends.

At a recent conference, Macedonia’s President Ivanov said that the EU without Macedonia would be “like an unfinished story”. With due respect to this perspective, I think there is something fundamentally wrong in this way of looking at things.

The EU will never be a finished story. That’s the essence of a project of this type. It will always evolve; it will always adapt and develop; enlarge and deepen; unify in diversity. Granted, the current crisis makes it difficult for us EU citizens to remain optimistic. If nothing else, the setbacks of the last few years have taught us that things may and will take time. They have taught us that political integration is a long and painful process and that progress is not always possible against small political and national egoisms.

These setbacks have deprived us of the pride of having created our own European constitution. They have shown us that membership of the EU does not automatically mean adherence to all European values. They have taught us that the “acquis communautaire” is not enough to create a distinct European identity shared by all its inhabitants. They have repeatedly confronted us with the cowardice and incompetence of our own politicians. The latest financial crisis has opened up more rifts between the citizens and nations of Europe than are good for us. And it is touching the very substance and fabric of the union.

No, the European Union is not a finished story. It will continue to keep us busy; engage our hearts and minds; frustrate us and fill us with hope. But it will continue to be, for the simple reason that it is our will. And we are many. And we are strong. And we are powerful. We still are, despite all the threats, be they political, military, economic or financial in nature. Yes, we have built a fortress, but even those who did this knew it wouldn’t hold for long. No fortress does. No entity can wall itself forever against unwanted intruders, and it had better invite in those it wants and needs to join.

We have still not entirely learned to live with each other. Hungarian-Slovak tensions are one example of that, as are the ever-failing Belgian model and Northern Ireland. At the same time, we have put an end to numerous conflicts; enemies have turned into good neighbours. We have learned that we don’t need to love each other as long as we can agree on more than just the basic values. Herein lies the crux with the enlarged Europe. We have to integrate and we are running the risk of watering down our core values. But this is also the subject of numerous debates. We talk to each other, we debate, we polemicise, perhaps too much, before we decide.

And we will continue to talk and to force politicians to inform us. Our various political systems are in crisis, populism is on the rise - but the Belgians and the Dutch have shown us in recent days that there are limits to that. So will the French and even the Italians, sooner or later. They will also continue to contribute to the development of the European project. One day, even the British will.

Will the EU be incomplete without Macedonia? Of course it will. Will it hurt? No. Will anyone care? Very few. And quite frankly, current Macedonian politics make it more and more difficult for us who do care to explain why we do.
Let me put the question the other way round. Will Macedonia without the EU be an incomplete project? Absolutely. Without the EU (and NATO) it is not even certain that there will be a Macedonian project in the future. Integration into the EU and NATO is absolutely, affirmatively and more than obviously lacking an alternative, if project Macedonia is to be prevented from failing. No deterrent can be strong enough to cover up this simple reality.

Notwithstanding the nationalist discourse, Macedonian institutions continue to function at a level that is less than satisfactory. The lack of will to create a cross-ethnic Macedonian identity has led to the creation of a psychological fortress, surrounded by more or less imagined enemies and few friends. Despite the grand and uninspired gestures à la Skopje 2014, the jobs market would collapse were it not for the grey economy. Foreign investments are slow in coming to the “investment heaven” that Macedonia portrays itself as. Two decades’ worth of governments have done a great deal for their senior party officials and the men in the background, and little bread and lots of games for the common people. At least here there are no ethnic barriers.

Recently, even the EU/NATO perspective is being put into question by various self-styled publicists and analysts, alluding to an original Macedonian way and even to a revival of that long extinct mastodon from Yugoslav times, the non-aligned movement. I find myself shaking my head and wondering whether these people are really insane or just ill intended. In the end, they are all just after the quick money guaranteed by ruthless and unconditioned servility to a government structure that doesn’t even demand it but does little to shake them off.

Trying to portray a Macedonian future without Europe or NATO is simply irresponsible. It would warrant only ridicule were it contemplated only by some nitwits at the fringes of the political system, by the types appearing on KRT or Amazon TV. The fact that it has been recently brought up by people that are well established in the system is dangerous. You don’t want to go there; this is a dead end. Macedonia is not Yugoslavia. The EU and NATO, the US, Russia and China are not the two blocks of former times. Get real, people. Small countries need big friends.

The equation is very simple: it is Macedonia that needs both the EU and NATO. Badly. The sooner, the better. The opposite is also true: the later, the worse. I want to believe that the Macedonian project will have a successful outcome. But it won’t be easy. And you will need the EU as a pull-factor; the only one that matters, like it or not. Then we will be able to talk about finished stories. To get there, there is work to be done. Lots of it.

Harald Schenker is a political analyst and adviser on Balkan issues. Balkan Insight is BIRN`s online publication.

What a disturbing and ignorant view this analyst has.

There is no such thing as a "distinct European identity". Does anyone believe this?