Macedonia’s Ajvar Proves a Hit in the US

Ajvar proved to be one of the most sought after products at Macedonia’s stand of the Chicago Food and Style Fair, national media reported recently.

The red pepper, tomato and aubergine paste ajvar attracted the attention of American distributors, according to the Macedonian daily newspaper Dnevnik. Because of that, the US Agency for International Development, USAID, will reportedly help Macedonian producers negotiate cooperation with American partners for import and distribution.

As BalkanTravellers.com reported, Macedonia took steps to patents its version of the dip in February, in an effort to make the product a world-recognised name, standardise the preparation ingredients and processes and guarantee quality and competitiveness on domestic and international markets.

Ajvar, one of the points of contention in the battles of the Balkan culinary wars, is popular across the countries of the region, with slight variations the ingredients it used and the way it is prepared, served and called.

U.S. asks Macedonia to rerun elections in some areas

The United States urged Macedonia's government on Monday to rerun elections in areas where weekend voting was marred by violence and intimidation.

But State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States would withhold judgment on the results of Sunday's vote -- which Macedonia's ruling conservatives apparently won -- until the final results were in.

"Quite clearly there were some very serious problems," McCormack told a news briefing.

"We would call upon the government of Macedonia to rerun elections in those districts where people were not able to cast their ballot free from threat of violence or intimidation, (and) to prosecute those responsible."

However, McCormack said Macedonia's bid to join the NATO alliance should still be able to go ahead, once the election problems were remedied and a dispute with Greece over the country's name was solved.

Election monitors criticized a failure to prevent violence in ethnic Albanian areas of Macedonia that killed one man and wounded nine others on Sunday. The monitors also noted instances of intimidation and ballot-box stuffing.

In rerunning the elections, Macedonia's government should "ensure that proper security forces are in place so that an election can take place in an environment where people are able to vote," McCormack said.

He said U.S. officials had spoken with Macedonia's government about the matter, and were confident Macedonia would move "quickly and effectively" to fix the problem.

The reported results would give the VMRO-DPMNE party of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski the healthiest majority in parliament in more than a decade, riding a wave of nationalist anger over Greece blocking Macedonia's NATO membership invitation in April.

Greece blocked Macedonia's bid to join the alliance because of long-standing dispute over the Balkan country's name, which is the same as that of Greece's northern province. Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged continued strong support for Macedonia's membership bid.

"I would expect that once the name issue is resolved, in the context of NATO, that their membership should be able to move forward," McCormack said, adding: " Of course, we would expect that they would remediate, effectively and quickly, this current situation."

Macedonia - US agreement on May 7

Macedonia and United States wil sign the bilateral military-technical agreement on May 7 in Washington. This agreement had been announced after the Greek veto on the eve of NATO summit in Bucharest.

"Agreement will be signed on May 7th, between Macedonian foreign minister Antonio Milososki, and US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, in Washington, said Macedonian Ambassador to the US, Zoran Jolevski, in an interview for Voice of America - Macedonian service.

Ambassador Jolevski was not able to answer on details about the agreement, as it is still being worked on by experts and institutions from both sides.

Balkan Fix

NATO's summit in Bucharest last week provided limited blessings for the Balkans. Although Albania and Croatia were invited into the alliance, Macedonia was shunted into the waiting room, Serbia remained on the sidelines, and Russia's persistent threats of renewed regional conflict over Kosovo went unchallenged.

Every NATO success in the Balkans seems to unearth a new problem and the Bucharest gathering was no exception. Positive decisions were reached with unanimous support for Croatia's and Albania's accession, as both countries have achieved the standards necessary for membership. In other favorable moves, Montenegro and Bosnia obtained Individual Partnership Action Plans and Intensified Dialogues to prepare them for future NATO entry.

Alliance leaders indicated a readiness to develop closer relations with Serbia after the parliamentary elections in mid-May. But with pro-Western forces divided and losing support, and the Radical Party likely to be included in the next Serbian government, Belgrade is more likely to edge closer to Russia than to NATO after the national ballot.

The most glaring summit negative was the postponed decision on Macedonia's NATO membership. The country's entry was blocked by Greece after years of stalled negotiations over the country's name and the formal usage of that name. The Macedonian appellation without a geographic or political qualifier is viewed in Athens as a direct challenge to Hellenic patrimony and identity, making it impossible for the Greek parliament to ratify Macedonia's NATO entry.

Unfortunately, the Macedonian authorities became overconfident that Washington would prevail as a mediator in the dispute with Athens and failed to adopt an acceptable compromise position. The country's invitation to NATO depends solely on an agreement with Greece – a prospect that may now prove even more elusive than before the summit.

In the wake of NATO's postponement, Macedonian politics is likely to radicalize. The fragile government, already abandoned by its Albanian coalition partners, could be forced to resign if it agrees to a new name that would entail a constitutional amendment. One can expect a flurry of accusations against Athens and a resurgence of nationalist passions. But this would only diminish Macedonia's reputation as a reliable NATO candidate.

Unless a sound strategy is devised in negotiations with Greece, with high-level U.S. involvement, the ensuing political turmoil may encourage leaders of the Albanian minority to push for territorial autonomy in a swath of territory bordering Kosova and Albania. This would capsize the Ohrid agreement painstakingly devised to ensure interethnic co-existence in a unitary state following the Albanian insurgency in the summer of 2001.

The broader regional consequences of not resolving Macedonia could also prove destabilizing. If Skopje does not promptly recognize Kosovo's statehood and fails to conclude a border agreement with Pristina, it could encourage some Albanian militants inside Macedonia to push for territorial adjustments. The militants might also conclude, in the absence of NATO membership, that Macedonia is merely a "temporary state."

Russia will also seek to benefit from Macedonian uncertainties by prodding for closer economic, political and security ties with Skopje and claiming to be a stalwart protector against pan-Albanianism and "Islamic terrorism." The objective will be to add another property on Moscow's expanding Monopoly board and construct a chain of Balkan dependencies stretching toward Central and Western Europe.

Following the summit declaration that NATO was committed to eventual membership for Ukraine and Georgia – though the alliance stopped short of offering them Membership Action Plans – Moscow issued its customary admonitions against expansion and threatened impending insecurity if Kiev and Tbilisi were invited into NATO. Less noticed but certainly more pressing was a statement from the Kremlin claiming that developments in Kosovo had yet to reach their "hottest phase," indicating that NATO and EU operations would be challenged by Serbian resistance and a push toward partition of Kosovo.

Moscow will continue to capitalize on Kosovo's limited international recognition by creating headaches for NATO and forestalling the further expansion of Western influence. Conflicts, frozen or otherwise, provide opportunities for promoting Russia's interests in a region that has still to be fully secured within Western institutions.

If nationalists form the next Serbian government, NATO should expect closer coordination between Belgrade and Moscow in provoking unrest in Kosovo. They may even precipitate the declaration of a separate Serbian administrative entity in the northern municipalities of Kosovo.

The post-Communist elites throughout Southeast Europe remain susceptible to Moscow's financial enticements and stand to benefit personally from opening up their economies to more substantial Russian penetration. Economic entrapment through an expanding Russian-controlled energy network could also entail political acquiescence to the Kremlin's pan-European objectives.

Moscow is pursuing a dual-track strategy toward the West: widening fissures inside Europe in order to expand its influence, and rolling back the American presence to prevent the permanent detachment of Eastern Europe from the Russian orbit. Seen in this broader strategic context, the Bucharest summit registered some successes in the Balkans, but more extensive and enduring commitments are needed in a still volatile and contested region.

The NATO Summit

The NATO Summit

Dan Fried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
Foreign Press Center Briefing
Washington, DC
April 7, 2008

QUESTION: Lambros Papantoniou, Greek correspondent, Eleftheros Typos, Greek daily. Mr. Secretary, on the name issue between Athens and Skopje, what happened in Bucharest? What is going to happen from now on, since you are (inaudible)? And why are you supporting the last proposal of Matthew Nimetz, which (inaudible) the proposal of February 19^th? And what was the purpose of the today's telephone call with the Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRIED: Of course, the position of the United States is well known. We wanted an invitation to Macedonia, either based on the Nimetz proposal or as FYROM, or as FYROM. Greece didn't accept that; however, Greece has made clear that it wants a solution to the name issue, and the Macedonian Government has made clear that it wants a solution to the name issue. Both sides want to move ahead.

And this became clear during the course of the discussions we had and President had with the Macedonian leaders, and it became clear in the course of conversations that Secretary Rice and I had with the Greek Foreign Minister. It's clear that both governments don't want to get into a cycle of mutual recrimination, and I think that the press in Skopje reflects this. If you see, it is -- the Macedonians do want to move forward. They're obviously disappointed, but I applaud their constructive approach.

And, frankly, I'm quite heartened that the Greek Government seems ready to engage intensely, and it's our intention to try. We're not going to give up. We support the Nimetz process. Nimetz -- well, I can't speak for him, but I believe he is ready to engage, certainly not throw in the towel. We want to move ahead.

QUESTION: And your telephone call to Mrs. Bakoyannis today?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRIED: I didn't speak to her today.

QUESTION: (Off-mike.)

MODERATOR: (Inaudible) the microphone.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRIED: I will simply say that I confirmed the -- I can speak only for myself -- confirmed America's interest in moving ahead. And I was quite satisfied with that phone call. I think it's important that we prepare to move ahead. There is plenty -- there are ample opportunities for recrimination and paralysis. Let's not take them.

QUESTION: Hi. Apostolos Zoupaniotis, Alpha Television in Greece. Mr. Secretary, I see many similarities in your negotiating tactics on the name issue and 2004, before the referendum, in Cyprus. And I wonder why you kept pushing in Bucharest for a decision and actually, by doing that, you were taking sides with Skopje, when you knew that Greece would veto it and when you knew that the latest proposal of Nimetz was much worse than the previous one in February 19?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRIED: Well, I'm not going to discuss the merits or demerits of the proposal by Ambassador Nimetz. We support the UN process. So does Greece. So does Macedonia. Of course, we thought -- we hoped that there would be an invitation to Macedonia. We said so. That remains our view. I see no reason to apologize for very active American role. We have, as you know, encouraged Skopje to negotiate in good faith. We have encouraged Greece to do the same. We don't take sides. We do -- our side is the side of a resolution on the most favorable terms possible for both sides, mutually acceptable terms. And I'm glad that we have -- that the United States is supporting Nimetz, and we intend to do so in the future.

QUESTION: Thanasis Isitsas, Greek newspaper Elefthe Rotypia. Mr. Secretary, a year ago, regarding Kosovo crisis, you said for the Serbians that nationalism is like a cheap alcohol; first it makes you drunk, then it makes you blind and it makes you kill. A year later, February 27^th, you gave an interview in Radio Kanal 77, before the summit in Bucharest, and you practically justified nationalism coming from the government of the former Yugoslavia of Macedonia. You said that Macedonian patriots have struggled for this moment more than a hundred years to get in Europe Atlantic institutions. Can you tell us, Mr. Secretary, is it a double standard? How come did you call in the first statement the Serbians nationalists and the secondly the Macedonian patriots? Isn't this a kind of double standard? Don't you think you encouraging by certain statements the nationals in FYROM?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRIED: Not at all. You completely misunderstood my remarks, and I should explain them to you so you can understand them properly.

Nationalism -- and Greece knows this very, very well -- in the Balkans has generated wars and bloodshed and killing and instability. And I think nationalism is a grave danger. When I spoke of Macedonian patriots, I spoke of a country which is a successful multiethnic state with ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians in the government and in opposition. Thanks to the Ohrid framework, the government in Skopje averted a major domestic problem, perhaps even a civil war. Of all the post-Yugoslav states, Macedonia has been among the most successful in avoiding precisely this kind of extreme nationalism. The government in Skopje, the Macedonian Government, is looking at a future in Europe and a future with NATO, and in doing so it is rejecting exactly the kind of nationalism which has brought so much pain to the Balkans.

In the future, a Macedonia in Europe, a Greece already in Europe, are destined to be good friends and partners. This is the best outcome, and that's the outcome we want. We want to see an outcome where nationalism of the kind that has brought wars is rejected. We want to see a future with irredentism belonging to history, not current-day reality. And I think that Greece has sometimes shown a great vision, a positive vision of this kind of cooperation, and I hope that Macedonia and Greece, FYROM and Greece, as you say, will be able to find this vision. We want to help.

Yes.

QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, I need your attention. A few moments ago, you said specifically, "Ethnic Macedonians" for the first time in history. That means the U.S. Government is recognizing the so-called "Macedonian ethnicity and language."

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRIED: I don't think it is so-called. Macedonian language exists. Macedonian people exist. It's not - you know, we teach Macedonian at the Foreign Service Institute. We teach Serbian, we teach Croatian, now we teach Bosnian. There's a debate in Montenegro as to Crnogorski Jezik, the Montenegrin language. All languages - and I speak now as - not as a bureaucrat, but as - you know, a former --a lapsed historian. All languages are - you know, are human creations and, you know, they develop over time and become codified. And it's not up to - you know, there is a Macedonian language.

There is also the historic Macedonian province, which is different from the country. And it's important. It's quite clear that the government in Skopje, what we Americans call the Government of Macedonia, has no claims. We recognize the difference between the historic territory of Macedonia, which is, of course, much larger than the current country. And we're involved in the - we are supportive of the Nimetz process on the name to make - to settle this issue.

QUESTION: What about the ethnicity? You mentioned ethnicity.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRIED: I'm not - I did - I did mention that. But, you know, this is an issue - you know, it is for people to define themselves, ultimately, I suppose. The ethnicity is - you know, it's just a fact as far as I can tell. The issue of the name is something that is on the table. And this is something to be discussed. I'm not the negotiator and I'm not, certainly, an anthropologist or an ethno-historian.

All right, thank you.

Milovanovic: U.S remain steadfast partner, ally, and friend to Macedonia

U.S. Ambassador to Macedonia Gillian Milovanovic in a written media statement on Friday expressed disappointment regarding yesterday's outcome at the Bucharest NATO Summit, where a consensus on Macedonia's NATO membership wasn't reached.


- The people of the Republic of Macedonia came together in the last few weeks and showed their shared commitment to moving this country towards a brighter future. Many, many people have worked hard and achieved so much for this country. The citizens of Macedonia can be proud that their accomplishments over many years and in recent months are making Macedonia a stronger, more prosperous, and more equitable nation for all, says Milovanovic.

The United States stands with the Republic of Macedonia, she adds. - We will remain a steadfast partner, ally, and friend. Yesterday the leaders of our countries agreed to begin work on an enhanced strategic partnership to strengthen our cooperation and ties.

The U.S. Ambassador urges Macedonia’s leadership to continue its positive approach to resolving the name issue promptly. - We eagerly look forward to Macedonia soon becoming a member of all Euro-Atlantic institutions it wishes to join, Milovanovic says in a statement.

Bush sees NATO future for Macedonia

President George W. Bush assured Macedonia on Saturday that the United States wants it in NATO as soon as possible, along with other former Yugoslav republics.

In a speech in Croatia marking its formal invitation to join NATO this week, Bush said he looked forward to seeing all Balkan candidates join the Western alliance which marks its 60th birthday next year.

"America's position is clear: Macedonia should take its place in NATO as soon as possible," he said in a speech attended by Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

The Macedonians walked out of a NATO summit in Romania when Greece blocked their invitation because of a long-running dispute over the country's name, which is that of Greece's northern province, birthplace of Greek hero Alexander the Great.

Bush welcomed progress by Montenegro and Bosnia towards NATO membership. Along with Croatia and Albania, which also received formal invitations from the NATO summit in Bucharest this week, NATO's Balkan enlargement would take the alliance to 31 members.

The president said he hoped that "soon a free and prosperous Serbia will find its rightful place in the family of Europe, and live at peace with its neighbours".

NATO is "open to all countries in the region", he said.

George W. Bush Passes Macedonian Geography Quiz

Abstract: In 2004, the United States changed its policy toward Macedonia by dropping the awkward “FYROM” name. President George W. Bush’s administration promoted the name change as a reward for Macedonia’s democratic reforms. Despite Greek criticism, the decision has already paid dividends in bringing peace and stability to the Balkan country.

America’s Policy Change Toward Macedonia

United States President George W. Bush would never be mistaken for being a geography expert or someone with a photographic memory for country titles and locations. He has called Africa a nation, Europe a key ally, and the Kingdom of Jordan a Gulf Coast Country. In a reporter’s pop quiz during the 2000 election campaign, he only correctly identified one of four country leaders. Yet Bush has changed America’s policy on Macedonia’s name, ending more than a decade of identifying the Balkan nation by a clumsy name and helping bring peace and freedom to a country struggling with foreign recognition of its identity.

While most Americans’ attention was riveted upon the 2004 election and its aftermath, including a focus on the close vote in the state of Ohio, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signed an agreement of cooperation which would refer to Macedonia by that name. Before that, the United States was one of many countries and international organizations that referred to the Balkan country by the name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,” a title quite unpopular with Macedonians.

The Greek-Macedonian Name Conflict

The Greek foreign minister slammed the Bush decision as unilateral and claimed it would have many “negative effects” upon the region. But this reaction was predictable. When Macedonia won its freedom peacefully from the old Yugoslav Federation in 1991, Greece slapped an economic embargo on its neighbor to the north. This embargo, which helped halve the average Macedonian per capita income at a time of economic transition from Communism, was supplemented with a Greek veto of European Union (EU) aid and lack of support for Macedonian membership in organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Greek critics of the Macedonian title also expressed their desire to have FYROM residents renamed Slavs. Greece also claimed the name was part of Greek heritage and would lead to irredentist designs upon their Thracian territory and surrounding lands, despite the fact that much of Macedonia’s military hardware was turned over to Serbia as the price for peaceful independence. Some Greeks tried to have others simply refer to FYROM by the capital “Skopje”

Greece was challenged by the European Union in the European Court in Luxembourg for its actions towards the Macedonian economy. And President Bill Clinton pressured the Greek President to seek a compromise with then-Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov.

American policymakers at the time were more interested in preventing a row between the two countries. Despite the urging of President Bill Clinton’s East European envoy Richard Holbrooke (who later became US Ambassador to the United Nations), who wished for Greece to accept the country name Macedonia and the peoples as Macedonians, the United States used the name FYROM. The United Nations sanctioned the title FYROM as well.

The Name Change Policy Boosts Democracy and Peace

While laboring under the FYROM title, Macedonia showed itself to be a good participant in the international community. It agreed to participate in the sanctions on the Yugoslav Federation at the time when its own economic situation was precarious (thanks to the Greek embargo). It housed hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Kosovo conflict, despite the fact that it taxed the resources of the small Balkan nation. When an Albanian insurgency broke out, Macedonia relied upon terms dictated by the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). These included some tough concessions to ethnic Albanians and Albanian insurgents of the National Liberation Army (NLA) spelled out in the Ohrid Peace Agreement.

According to a report by the AFP, the United States made its decision not to offend the Greeks, but to “reward Macedonia for its commitment to democracy.” This is hardly just rhetoric. Evidence of Macedonia’s democratic credentials is found in key democratic datasets such as Freedom House, Polity and Vanhanen’s Polyarchy Dataset.

Rather than have negative effects, as predicted by the Greek Minister, the Bush Administration’s decision to rename FYROM as Macedonia seems to have had a positive impact upon peace in that Balkan country. Before the American decision, Macedonians opposed to the Ohrid Peace Agreement rallied against parliamentary legislation designed to redraw municipal boundaries, which would give ethnic Albanians more autonomy. But after the U.S. decision to boost Macedonia’s international standing, controversy over the redrawn boundaries died down. A referendum designed to overturn the legislation failed due to low turnout. Local elections were held a few months later without serious incident.

Regardless of his fuzzy memory for country titles and locations, President George W. Bush understands the role names can play in bringing about peace and stability in a war-torn region. After all, he told the Economist on June 12, 1999 “Keep good relations with the Grecians.”

Bush reels from NATO setbacks

GEORGE W. Bush was reeling from a summit of setbacks yesterday as his carefully laid plans to invite Ukraine and Georgia into the bosom of the NATO alliance were scuppered by a Russian diplomatic coup.

The expected entry into NATO of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Fyrom) was also blocked by a row over its name.

The twin disasters were not helped when the offers of more NATO troops for the mission in Afghanistan turned out to be more of a trickle than a flow of combat soldiers to take on the Taliban, although Gordon Brown said that there had been encouraging evidence of greater burden-sharing, particularly on civilian projects.

One positive development for Mr Bush was that the Czech Government finally agreed to house a radar system on its soil for the US’s missile defence system, and NATO expressed a desire to bring the whole of Europe under the umbrella of the network.

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the head of the NATO alliance, insisted that the summit in Bucharest, the Romanian capital, had been a triumph of decision-making, and declared that even though Ukraine and Georgia were not going to be welcomed yet into the so-called membership action plan — the crucial step to joining the 26-strong organisation — they had been reassured that they would be members one day.

Mr Bush had demanded that Ukraine and Georgia should be offered the membership action plan immediately, but after warnings from President Putin that this would be dangerous for the security of Europe, Germany and France voted to oppose the idea, although they signed up to a compromise offer of eventual membership.

No one was prepared to guess when that may happen. NATO foreign ministers will discuss a possible starting date for the membership plan for the two countries at a meeting in December.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who dined with NATO leaders last night in Bucharest and is due to hold talks with Mr Bush at the Black Sea port of Sochi tomorrow, was being hailed in Moscow as a diplomatic mastermind for dashing Washington’s dream for Ukraine and Georgia.

Germany and France voiced concerns about opening NATO's doors to them partly because of Europe’s growing dependence on Russian energy supplies. Even Mr Brown failed to support the US plan.

President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine tried to hide his disappointment yesterday by saying: “I’m convinced that Ukraine will be in NATO.”

President Mikhail Saakashvili of Georgia gave warning that snubbing his nation would be a “bad sign” and would undermine his country’s reform process.

Experts in Moscow said the setback for Mr Bush on his last NATO summit was a clear victory for Mr Putin. “Putin has changed the tone of relations between Russia and the West,” Sergei Karaganov, a Russian political analyst with close ties to the Kremlin, said.

Mr Brown’s aides tried to play down the impact of the decision on Ukraine and Georgia, saying that they were content with the compromise. They said that in refusing to stand with Mr Bush over the issue Britain had denied Russia the opportunity to exploit a damaging split within the alliance. They also said that Germany had been forced to accept in principle Nato’s eastward expansion.

The hitch over Fyrom also spoilt what was supposed to be a celebration of three new Balkan countries joining the alliance — Albania, Croatia and Fyrom itself. All three had passed the tests for membership, but Greece vetoed Macedonia on the ground that it had the same name as its northern province.

After failing to reach a compromise, NATO leaders were forced to put the invitation to Fyrom on hold until the clashing names could be resolved. The Macedonian delegation walked out of the summit in protest.

On Afghanistan, Mr Brown’s and Kevin Rudd's call for countries to contribute more troops fell on mostly deaf ears. NATO officials admitted that despite the offer from President Nicolas Sarkozy of France of about 700 extra troops, the mission in Afghanistan would still be two battle groups short of what was needed.

Only a handful of nations pledged extra soldiers. New Zealand promised an extra 18. Portugal, Poland, Romania and Croatia have all signalled extra troops but only Georgia, which has said it might send up to 500, rivalled the French commitment.

Greece’s Flexibility on Macedonia

Regarding your March 30 editorial “The Republic Formerly Known As,” let me emphasize that Greece supports NATO’s enlargement to those candidates who respect the principles of trust, solidarity and good neighborly relations.

While you say “tiny Macedonia poses no threat whatsoever to Greece,” the authorities in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or Fyrom, portray Greek Macedonia as “occupied” territory, refusing to remove such claims from textbooks, speeches, articles, documents and maps of “Greater Macedonia,” which includes parts of northern Greece.

Such irredentism and hostile propaganda are more befitting to 19th-century policies than 21st-century NATO membership.

One hundred fifteen members of the United States House of Representatives co-sponsored H.R. 356, asking Fyrom to “stop hostile activities and propaganda against Greece.” Senators Robert Menendez, Barack Obama and Olympia Snowe introduced a similar resolution in the Senate.

The government in Skopje insists on being the exclusive claimant to the name of an entire area, the largest part of which lies outside its borders, and insists on portraying Greek Macedonia as occupied territory. The term “Macedonia” has always been used to delineate a wider geographical region, approximately 51 percent of which is part of Greece, 38 percent of Fyrom and 9 percent of Bulgaria.

We have come to the table with a clear objective: a long-overdue, mutually acceptable composite name that includes the designation of Macedonia, but attaches an adjective to it to distinguish it from the broader geographical area of Macedonia. Greece has engaged in this process constructively and with an open mind.

In an unprecedented policy shift, our government has unilaterally gone two-thirds of the way, accepting a number of proposals from the United Nations mediator, Matthew Nimetz, as a basis for discussion. We have proved to be considerably flexible in our quest for a win-win solution. All we ask is that Fyrom travel the rest of the distance.

Alexandros P. Mallias
Ambassador of Greece
Washington, March 30, 2008

US to Boost Assistance to Macedonia

A top US diplomat who attended Thursday’s Macedonia-US meeting in Bucharest has confirmed that the United States is ready to give additional assistance to Macedonia following the country's failure to secure an invitation to join NATO.

At NATO's Bucharest summit on Thursday, Macedonia's entry into the Alliance was blocked by Greece because of its continuing dispute with Macedonia over the country's name.

The diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told BBC Macedonia on Friday that the US cannot guarantee the security of Macedonia but added that ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation are being considered.

Local media speculated that this may imply strengthening military cooperation.

Athens has insisted that Skopje change the name “Republic of Macedonia” if it wants to avoid a Greek veto on NATO membership. Greece argues that this name could be taken to imply a territorial claim over Greece's northern province also called Macedonia.

Analysts have argued that if Macedonia stays out of NATO its stability could be jeopardised, since the country’s 25-percent Albanian community could begin lobbying for secession due to the country's unfulfilled NATO aspirations.

On Thursday evening, Menduh Taci, the leader of the ruling Albanian party in Macedonia, the Democratic Party of Albanians, told local media that the Albanians would wait “as long as they can” for the Macedonian majority to try to solve the “name” dispute. He did not give any deadlines.

Macedonian media reported earlier on Thursday that the signing of a special bilateral agreement in which the US would guarantee the stability of Macedonia was agreed at a meeting between US President George W. Bush and Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

The meeting took place after it had become clear that despite the approval of the other 25 NATO members Macedonia would remain outside the Alliance because of Greek opposition.

An intense UN and US effort to find a mutually acceptable solution to the 17-year long dispute has so far been in vain.

Rice: Macedonia Not to be Blamed

Macedonia and its people are not responsible for the country's failure to receive an invitation to join NATO, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told media in Bucharest late on Thursday.

Rice said she hoped that Macedonia would join the Alliance “as soon as possible” and she stressed that all the NATO members meeting at the Bucharest summit had agreed that the country has met the membership criteria.

“Macedonia is in fact invited to join the Alliance as soon as the 'name' issue is resolved,” Rice said.

Skopje's bid failed because of Greek opposition, despite the fact that all the other member countries agreed that Macedonia had met all of NATO’s requirements.

Greece exercised its veto because it objects to the name Republic of Macedonia, which Athens believes may imply a claim to the northern Greek province of the same name.

Rice told reporters that the US and other countries pressed for Macedonia’s invitation at the summit but that their freedom of action was constrained by the fact that NATO functions on the nbasis of consensus.

Croatia and Albania, however, got the green light to join the Alliance.

On Thursday NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer announced that Macedonia's bid to join the Alliance had been unsuccessful. Immediately afterwards, the country’s leaders, together with many Macedonian journalists, left the summit early in a sign of protest.

“We have been punished because of who we are and not because of what we have done,” Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski told reporters on Thursday.

Bush Urges Greece to Solve Name Row with Macedonia

US president George Bush called on Greece on Wednesday to refrain from vetoing Macedonia's bid to join NATO and urged Athens to find quick resolution of the name dispute with Skopje.

If Greece does otherwise, it would threaten to pile further pressure in the Balkan region, Bush said in a speech in Bucharest during the NATO summit that started on Wednesday.

"Tomorrow in recognition of their progress, NATO will make a historic decision on the admission of three Balkan nations Croatia, Albania and Macedonia," the president added.

Ahead of the NATO summit, Skopje declared the country wants to join the Alliance under the name Macedonia rather than as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), under which it was admitted to the UN in 1993.

At the same time Greece vows to veto Macedonia's effort to join NATO, saying the name is a vehicle that aims at annexing the northern Greek province of Macedonia.

US President: NATO Expansion 'Historic'

A historic decision on extending NATO membership to Croatia, Albania and Macedonia will be taken at the Bucharest Summit, U.S. President George Bush says.

Bush pointed out that the three countries have succeeded in building free societies and their citizens deserve to have the security assured by NATO.

The three countries are hoping to secure invitations to join the alliance at the Summit.

However, Greece is threatening to veto the invitation if Skopje does not change its country’s name.

Athens opposes to Skopje’s constitutional name “Republic of Macedonia” arguing that it might lead Skopje to make territorial claims over its own northern province which is also called Macedonia.

Media both in Athens and in Skopje say the Greek delegation is travelling to Bucharest with its veto for Macedonia already set, after the flurry of diplomatic efforts prior to the summit failed to reconcile both countries’ stances.

Greece has already rejected the last United Nations proposal for a compromise name while Macedonia has kept silent.

Top NATO and United States officials however say they hope the issue can be resolved in Bucharest at the last moment.

“The problem can and will be solved,” Greek media cited Bush as saying in an interview for Tuesday’s edition of German daily, Berliner Morgenpost.

He added that additional efforts were needed in order for that to happen.

Greek media speculate the U.S. is planning to let Macedonia be invited into NATO with the provisional name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, under which it was admitted into the UN due to Greek pressure back in 1993.

Greece allegedly opposes this move and asked for Skopje’s invitation to be postponed.

Meanwhile Bush also told leaders at the summit that winning the fight in Afghanistan is the most important goal for NATO.

There has been concern that some states have not been contributing enough support to root out Taliban forces rooted in the country's lawless south.

He also pointed out that Georgia and Ukraine be allowed to join the Membership Action Plan, despite Russian protests and that NATO's doors are open for other countries too.

The NATO Summit will also address Russian concerns about a new United States missile defence shield, part of which will be located in Central Europe, and Russia's outgoing President Vladimir Putin has been invited to the meeting. Bush will hold talks with Putin later at Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Although not a NATO member, Russia has embarked on joint projects with the military alliance but relations remain fraught.

NATO was established in the 1949 at the height of the Cold War as a military alliance to counter "the Soviet threat." Moscow still often accuses NATO of being anti-Russian.

Senior U.S. official appeals to Macedonia to work harder to solve name dispute with Greece

A senior U.S. official appealed to Macedonia Saturday to work harder toward a solution on the name dispute with Greece that has clouded relations between two neighbors for 17 years and threatens to block Macedonia's bid to join NATO.

"There is a lot of openness in NATO for Macedonia but we need a solution to the name issue. We really do," Daniel Fried, assistant U.S. secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs told private A1 TV channel. "And my message was let's try to find it."

Fried briefly visited Macedonia late Friday for talks with President Branko Crvenkovski and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

Both sides declined to make statements to the media after the meetings.

Fried expressed optimism that a solution over the name dispute could be found before the NATO summit in Bucharest on April 2-4.

NATO nations cranked up pressure on Greece on Thursday to allow Macedonia, which broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991, to join the alliance, saying that the two countries should work harder to resolve a bitter dispute over competing claims to the name Macedonia.

"Yes, (the dispute) can be solved if there is enough political ambition and political will," Fried said.

He indirectly appealed to Macedonia to compromise, saying that the solution over the name dispute would mean that the U.S. "would pledge itself to defend Macedonia."

"That means that the other great nations of Europe, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and all of your neighbors would equally pledge to be allies," Fried said.

Macedonia, along with Croatia and Albania, is hoping to be invited to join NATO at the alliance summit. Greece has threatened to veto Macedonia's entry because of the dispute.

Greece says the name of Macedonia implies a claim to the Greek northern region with the same name. Other allies appealed to the two countries to come to an agreement in U.N.-led talks before the meeting starts on April 2 in Bucharest, Romania.

U.N. mediator Matthew Nimetz has proposed five alternative names that Macedonia could consider adopting: Constitutional Republic of Macedonia, Democratic Republic of Macedonia, Independent Republic of Macedonia, New Republic of Macedonia, and Republic of Upper Macedonia.

NATO nations said that excluding Macedonia from NATO could add to instability in the Balkan region, which is already tense over Kosovo's recent declaration of independence from Serbia.

US 'Takes Over' In Macedonia Dispute

The United States is taking up a direct role in mediating the "name" dispute in which Greece is threatening to block Macedonia's entry into NATO, local media claimed Saturday citing unnamed diplomatic sources.

Daniel Fried, the U.S. Under-Secretary for Europe, reportedly told Macedonia’s leaders of Washington's more pro-active strategy during a surprise visit to Skopje on late Friday, local A1 TV reported.

He held meetings with Macedonia’s President Branko Crvenkovski and with Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, although no details of the talks were made public.

In an interview for A1 on Saturday, Fried called on Macedonian leaders to seriously consider a quick compromise with Greece.

“There is a lot of openness in NATO towards Macedonia but we really need a solution to the name issue. And my message is: well, let’s try to find it,” Fried said.

During his trip, Fried reportedly told politicians that the U.S. is “strongly determined” in trying to resolve the issue ahead of NATO's Bucharest Summit in April, where Macedonia is hoping to get the green light to join the military alliance.

Athens has threatened to veto Skopje’s accession if a solution is not found by then.

Greece opposes Skopje’s use of the name “Republic of Macedonia” even though it has been recognised by over 120 countries. Athens argues the name suggests Skopje could make territorial claims over Greece's own northern province of Macedonia.

On Wednesday, the United Nations special mediator in the dispute, Matthew Nimetz, told media in Skopje of “a deep gap" in the Greek and Macedonian positions.

He had been meet leaders from both countries in a last ditch attempt to reconcile their differences.

Skopje defended its demands for a so-called 'double formula' that envisages one mutually acceptable name for bilateral relations with Greece and using its constitutional name for dealings with the rest of the world.

Athens on the other hand argues that Skopje should accept a single name for international correspondence as well as for home use.

In 1995 both sides signed a UN-sponsored agreement which included a clause restraining Athens from blocking Skopje’s attempts to join international organisations as long as it uses the provisional name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” or FYROM.

US puts name on table

The United States has proposed that Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) settle on the name “New Republic of Macedonia” for Athens’s neighbor, sources told Kathimerini yesterday.

The proposal was made during talks that Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis had with State Department officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in Washington yesterday.

Washington has proposed that the name New Republic of Macedonia should be used by Skopje in all its dealings with international organizations, according to sources.

Athens could then, theoretically, press for the name to be used in all of its neighbor’s bilateral relations.

Greece is insistent that any composite name for the Balkan country should be used in FYROM’s bilateral relations and Bakoyannis took the opportunity to press on the USA that it would have to follow suit as well.

Athens is likely to make the same demands of its European Union partners and members of the United Nations Security Council.

Washington’s proposal is likely to form the basis of discussions between Bakoyannis and UN mediator Matthew Nimetz, who is due in Athens on Monday as diplomatic pressure grows for a solution to be found to the name issue.

Rice also met with FYROM Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki this week and,

according to State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, she impressed upon him the need for greater “flexibility” opposite Greece during their talks in Washington on Tuesday. Rice reportedly pressed the FYROM diplomat “to participate fully in the procedure (to find a new name) under the aegis of the United Nations special envoy (Matthew Nimetz).”

Earlier, Bakoyannis sought to clarify Greece’s position during a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank. Bakoyannis noted that Washington’s earlier recognition of FYROM as “Macedonia” was a mistake as it gave Skopje the impression that it did not need to make any effort to negotiate with Athens to find a mutually acceptable solution to the name dispute. Bakoyannis said Greece would “fully support” FYROM in its bid to join NATO, but only once an agreement has been reached.

US urges Macedonia to resolve name dispute with Greece

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is urging Macedonia to resolve a dispute with Greece over its name.
The U.S. State Department says Rice told Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki Tuesday that the country should use a U.N.mediation process to find a solution. Rice plans to deliver the same message to Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis this week.
Macedonia is called the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, or FYROM, at the U.N. But more than 100 countries have recognized it as Macedonia.

Greece has objected to the name, arguing that it could imply claims on the Greek province of Macedonia.

Eleftheros Typos: Macedonia in close coordination with US

Greece was not notified about today's meeting of US State Secretary Condoleezza Rice and Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki, which confirms that Washington and Skopje work together, a Greek daily said.

Eleftheros Typos daily said nobody in Athens knew about Rice-Milososki meeting. Greek officials were caught by surprise with the unannounced meeting, which takes place one day before the visit of Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis to Washington.

The paper says Greece's allies in NATO and in European Union no longer pledge solidarity with Athens due to eventual veto on Macedonia's NATO entry.

The decision on Greek veto on Macedonia's admission to NATO will push the Costas Karamanlis' government to the wall, to diplomatic extortion and deadlock in the next 20 days, the pro-opposition daily said.

Even though Greek government made clear that non-resolution of name dispute would mean a veto on NATO entry, it is quite obvious that the strategy will be additionally shaped after the Bakoyannis-Rice meeting, and the issue is likely to be settled along with Kosovo independence.

If Greece quits veto, the move will have a high political price. Nonetheless, the eventual consent to Cyrillic transcript of Republic of Macedonia will be of much higher price, Eleftheros Typos daily said.

Burns: Greece a 'crucial strategic ally' of the US

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns called Greece a "strategic ally" of the United States, and outlined the common values and historical bonds between the two countries, while also lauding the role of the Greek American community, during a hearing on "US-Greece Relations and Regional Issues" in the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee's subcommittee on Europe in the US Congress on Wednesday.

Burns, a former US ambassador to Greece and the number three man in the US State Department, referred also to the FYROM name issue and US-Greece cooperation on such matters as nuclear arms non-proliferation, trafficking in persons, and environmental protection, with a special reference to the recent devastating wildfires in Greece and in the state of California.

On Kosovo, Burns said that the US was working towards a definitive settlement of the final status of the region, and backed the Ahtisaari plan, which he said provides for supervised independence for Kosovo, adding that in the event that an agreement was not achieved in the next two rounds of negotiations, which end on December 10, the US and other countries would not back further continuation of the talks and would "take their decisions" on the matter.

He also noted the progress in the procedures for including Greece in the US's visa waiver programme, stressing that the relations between the two countries were the best they have been in decades. "We have excellent relations with the prime minister Mr. (Costas) Karamanlis and the foreign minister Ms. (Dora) Bakoyannis, and we are grateful to both for their strong support for a closer US-Greek alliance," he said.

Burns added that the two countries were working together to promote peace and stability in Greece's neighbourhood, as well as in the wider Middle East "and beyond".

"We know that we can count on our Greek friends and allies, we know that we can face these challenges and that Greece can rely on us," he added.

Replying to questions by members of the subcommittee, Burns said that Greece was a "crucial strategic ally, with which the US fought together in all the major wars of the 20th century".

"Greece is a partner of the US in the front against global terrorism and contributes to the NATO effort in Afghanistan", while "it is also a key country, with strategic importance and deep knowledge of the developments in the Balkans, and a main investor" in Albania, FYROM and Serbia.

To a question on terrorism, Burns said that this was one of the issues that had been of concern in Greek-American relations. He stressed that Greece's efforts had produced a "dramatic improvement", referring the Greek authorities' disbanding of the 'November 17' and 'ELA' terrorist groups which, he noted, had killed members of the US (diplomatic) mission, while most of the victims of those organisations had been Greek citizens, among them the husband of the current foreign minister Bakoyannis (then ruling New Democracy party MP Pavlos Bakoyannis).

The two countries, he continued, are partners in Afghanistan, adding, however, that Greece should examine the prospect of stepping up the efforts in the southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan against the Taliban, with additional forces.

On the Cyprus issue, Burns reaffirmed that the US supported the efforts of the UN for a solution of the Cyprus problem on the basis of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.

On FYROM, Burns said that it should not be "refused an invitation for NATO membership on any grounds save that of failure to fulfill the fundamental entry criteria".

He said that certain quarters in Greece were raising the prospect of a veto regarding an invitation to 'Macedonia' if the name issue is not resolved.

"Although the US agrees on the importance of resolving the name issue, it does not believe that only the difference over the name constitutes a reason for obstructing 'Macedonia's' accession to international organisations," he said, adding that the US supports the UN-brokered process under the UN secretary general's special mediator on the FYROM name issue Matthew Nimetz, and implementation of the 1995 Interim Agreement between the two countries which he said allowed 'Macedonia's' membership in regional and international organisations with the name of FYROM.

Burns also called on Skopje to display the necessary flexibility, noting Greece's sensitivities, which he said FYROM should take into consideration.

He further referred to what he called the "visionary policy" of Greek Prime Minister Karamanlis regarding Greek-Turkish relations, noting that there was no need for any US mediation between Athens and Ankara whatsoever, since relations between the two countries were steadily improving.

Burns also expressed his support for the re-opening of the Halki School of Theology and the need forf the Ecumenical Patriarch to freely exercise his duties, noting that the US governments of George Bush and his prede