As UN envoy Matthew Nimetz is set to pay a visit to Greece and FYROM, debates have centred around any ‘name’ proposals he may put on the negotiations table
It is long due, and not without any optimism and objections at the same time that officials in Athens and Skopje are expecting the UN mediator Matthew Nimetz with some “new ideas” in the longstanding dispute over Macedonia’s state name – to which Greece objected so far.
The UN envoy Matthew Nimetz is off to Greece and Macedonia. Athens and Skopje expect to hear again from him for overcoming of the long-standing name dispute, Macedonian MIA news agency reported.
As Balkan Insight (BIRN) reported – prior to Nimetz’s arrival in Greece, the Greek Foreign Minister, Dimitris Avramopoulos, said his country aimed for a solution that would respect each side’s history and culture and strengthen regional stability and security.
“Nimetz’s visit… is a development that we wanted, to the extent that it can create the conditions for progress on the ‘name’ issue,” he said, BIRN reported. After meeting Greek officials, Nimetz is expected to go on to Skopje.
“I hope for new initiatives and ideas [from Nimetz],” the Macedonian President, Gjorge Ivanov, said before the New Year’s holiday.
Greek media have already reported on concrete proposals that Nimetz would present to Greek and Macedonian authorities. Daily “Ethnos” says the mediator will force the two governments to pass critical decisions and avoid a new impasse that could lead to serious unwanted effects in NATO and EU.
According to the newspaper, the proposal would include a geographic qualifier, without going into issues of identity and language. Moreover, the proposals would cover the range of the name’s use.
“Nimetz is set to present a name for bilateral relations and international organizations, as well as a non-binding recommendation for bilateral use, while avoiding any inclusion of the solution in the FYROM constitution”, says “Ethnos”.
The paper stresses that if the mediator presents a proposal that Athens cannot accept, pressure on Greece will increase, especially from countries pushing for Macedonia’s accession talks date under the FYROM reference.
Greece insists that Macedonia’s name implies territorial claims to its own northern province, also called Macedonia.
Macedonia has obtained annual recommendations for a start to EU membership talks in European Commission reports since 2009.
But it has never been offered a date for the talks owing to the Greek blockade related to the dispute over its name.
GREEK WORLD MEDIA 