SKOPJE, June 15 (Xinhua) — Macedonia’s new government should step up efforts now to resolve its name dispute with Greece and advance the country’s Euro-Atlantic integration process, Macedonian political experts said Thursday.
The experts believe this is a decisive moment for the new government to seek a solution for the name dispute which has blocked the country’s efforts to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU) in view of the fact that Macedonia has now won support from the international community.
Athens and Skopje are at odds over the use of the name of Macedonia since Greece’s northern neighbor broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991.
Macedonia is the name of a northern province in Greece and Athens is worried that the use of the same name by the neighboring state could lead to territorial claims.
“Time has come to find a solution. The current circumstances are calling for the need for an arbitrary solution of the name dispute,” said Ismet Ramadani, chairman of Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic Council, which deals with the country’s Euro integration.
Macedonia could become a NATO member under the name of FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) first and then continue on talks for a definitive solution, he noted.
Nano Ruzin, a former Macedonian ambassador to NATO, told reporters that a strategy must be drafted for better relations with Greece in order to give way to the solution of the name row, noting that the new government has a chance to resolve this issue now.
The government must also implement the reforms demanded by the EU so as to be back on track for the process of Euro-Atlantic integration, said the ex-ambassador.
Greece is ready to support FYROM’s membership bids to join the EU and NATO once the name dispute between Athens and Skopje is resolved, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said Wednesday after talks with his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov.
During the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008, Greece vetoed FYROM’s application to enter the alliance without having solved the name issue.
As Skopje has renewed efforts to join EU and NATO, Greece has signaled that its position remains unchanged.
Several proposals have been made in the recent years on the name such as: Upper Macedonia, Northern Macedonia, Vardar’s Macedonia and the Republic of Macedonia-Skopje.
Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has said that any solution for the name dispute will be adopted with consent of the opposition and then a referendum should be held to let the people have their say on the issue.
