US envoy: Time right for Macedonia name solution

Greece's presence in international fora remains unaffected by the economic crisis and the tough economic conjecture due to the international prestige enjoyed by Prime Minister George Papandreou, US ambassador to Greece Daniel Speckhard underlined on Friday.

Speaking to reporters at the US consulate in Thessaloniki, he praised Greece's economic presence in the Balkans, pointing out that as a member of the EU the country represents the greater European market.

As regards the prospects for US investments in Greece, Amb. Speckhard underlined the need for less red-tape and the implementation of structural reforms to make the business environment more flexible and friendly.

On the Macedonian "name issue", he stated that "this is a good time" for a solution and reiterated that the United States will support any settlement mutually reached by Athens and Skopje.

Speckhard's tenure as US ambassador in Greece ends in the coming period.

Macedonia ready for solution to name dispute

THE FORMER Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is ready to resolve the name dispute with Greece that has kept the Balkan country out of Nato as long as the solution does not undermine FYROM national identity, President Gjorge Ivanov said on June 21.


The dispute dates from FYROM’s 1991 independence from Yugoslavia. Greece says use of the name Macedonia implies territorial claims on its own region with the same name, and has blocked FYROM’s efforts to join Nato since 2008 while threatening to do the same at the European Union.


“We need a compromise in which there will be no winners and losers and which will be equally acceptable for all citizens. We are ready to reach such a solution,” Ivanov told reporters after holding talks with Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus, who was in Skopje on a two-day visit.


“Macedonia [FYROM] is ready to reach a solution that would be mutually acceptable,” Ivanov said.

Mike Rann: “Macedonia is Greek!”

South Australian premier Mike Rann has sparked an international diplomatic furore by accusing the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) of stealing Greek culture and its leader, Gjorge Ivanov, of “stirring up trouble in the most dangerous way”. He made the comments in a speech at the Dimitria Greek festival in Adelaide.
In the speech, Rann affirmed his commitment to Adelaide’s Greek voters and promised his government would “remain firm and unswerving in our support for your cause. It is important because no one is entitled to steal another nation’s history or culture,” Rann said.
Earlier this week, Rann said he would not be “silenced or muzzled” and would “continue to speak out on issues I believe in”.

Repetition of a flawed policy

The failure of a policy is not measured by one mistake, but by the constant repetition of that mistake, and this is something that the US State Department has failed to understand when dealing with the complex affairs of Southeast Europe.

Around our Balkan neighborhood, Condoleezza Rice’s constant repetition of the rigid stance held by the United States prior to the summit in Bucharest will not help the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia’s bid for entry into NATO. “The hope is that the name issue can be resolved very quickly now,” Rice commented during an official visit to France last week. She added that the dispute between Athens and Skopje over FYROM’s constitutional name “should not get in the way of the admission of Macedonia to NATO.” This fresh pressure from Washington comes as the UN mediator for the Macedonia name dispute, Matthew Nimetz, calls a new round of talks.

All Rice’s stance achieves is to encourage intransigence in young leaders, and now, with the events in South Ossetia, we have all seen where this can lead.

FYROM parades under official name in Beijing

The Olympic delegation of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) yesterday paraded in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympiad under a banner with the initials of its official name FYROM, used by the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This followed Greek representations to the IOC and the organizers to stop the neighboring country from using its constitutional name of “Republic of Macedonia.” The Hellenic Olympic Committee also complained regarding a reference to FYROM athletes on the official Games website as “Macedonians.” Separately, FYROM Premier Nikola Gruevski snubbed a suggestion that UN mediator Matthew Nimetz might propose “New Democratic State of Macedonia” to resolve the name dispute with Greece. “It will have the same fate as his last proposal,” he said.

Eleftheros Typos: For Skopje nationalism is not choice, but necessity

The nationalism is not a choice for Skopje, it is a necessity, the Greek daily Eleftheros Typos reports. Skopje is not the typical example of a nationalistic country. It is more a peculiar state formation without national uniformity, and with population without unified identity.
To be more precise, the daily notes, FYROM consists of population with different national identities, to which it is trying to assign false ‘Macedonian’ identity.
The daily concludes that ‘all this has no connection to Greece, nor the naming dispute. If FYROM stops being a ‘national country’, then a large part of the ‘Slav-speakers’ will start feeling themselves Bulgarians and will leave for Sofia – a process, which has, by the way, already started’, the article reads.

New Gruevski Provocation: Raising "Macedonia" Minority Issues

Three days after Greece's Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis sent an answering letter to his FYROM counterpart Nikola Gruevski, a letter which was also handed over to the UN Secretary-General, the FYROM Premier has not given up on making provocative claims.

In his letter to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, Gruevski asked him to mediate so that the living conditions of the Macedonian minority, as Gruevski called it, living in Greece can be improved.

Gruevski'Αs letter has crossed the line, since it is after making the EU an arbitrator, putting the name dispute aside.

Focus should be shifted on the FYROM name dispute only, while no controversial issues should be raised, commented Deputy Assistant of the US Secretary of State Matt Bryza in his interview with Eleftheros Typos daily.

Bryza stressed that the US State Department has taken no stand on the matters raised by Nikola Gruevski.

In the meantime, the two-day celebrations in honour of Saint Elias in the northern Greek village of Meliti ended smoothly. The celebrations are attended by the area'Αs residents and a small number of FYROM nationals.

Greek investments in FYROM at 1 bil. euros

Greek businesses with activities in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) are currently employing 20,000 people, while the total amount of real investments by Greek companies in the neighbouring country amount to around 1 billion euros, Athanassios Makrandreou, commercial counsellor at the Greek Liaison Office in Skopje, told a conference in Thessaloniki on Tuesday. The two-day symposium-partenariat, which began the same day, falls within the framework of the Community Initiative Iterreg III.

FYROM pushes ‘refugee’ demands

Athens yesterday rebuffed calls by the foreign minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) for current citizens of FYROM who left Greece during the civil war to be allowed to reclaim lost property and apply for Greek citizenship.

Sources dismissed the comments by Antonio Milososki as a departure from the focus of talks between Greek and FYROM government officials which are aimed at finding a mutually acceptable name for FYROM. But Milososki said Athens was trying to address other issues. “If we follow this logic, then it would be good to close all issues that might cause misunderstandings in the future,” Milososki said. “This applies also to the restitution of properties of the refugees from Greece who are Macedonian citizens, but have grounds for receiving Greek citizenship too,” Milososki said.

Greek diplomatic sources said it was FYROM, not Greece, that has been trying to divert ongoing UN-mediated talks from the name issue. Greece has said solving the name dispute is a priority.

The same point was made in a letter sent by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to his FYROM counterpart Branko Crvenkovski. “Macedonia is fully qualified to join NATO but it should resolve the name dispute with Greece beforehand,” Sarkozy said in the letter, made public yesterday. In a speech before the Greek Parliament last month, Sarkozy had said France would stand firmly by Greece’s side in the name dispute.

In a related development, sources told Kathimerini that groups representing FYROM citizens in Greece are organizing a rally at the Niki border crossing with FYROM in which they have invited “all refugees chased out of Greece” to participate.

Athens dismisses latest FYROM quip

Greece on Thursday flatly dismissed the latest diplomatic "fireworks" launched by the leadership of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) this week regarding the pesky "name issue", with a foreign ministry spokesman denying that Athens was placing any new issues on the agenda of UN-mediated talks aimed to solve the 17-year-old dispute.

Foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos termed comments by FYROM FM Antonio Milososki as a completely "baseless, unqualified and unsubstantiated attempt to create impressions" by the FYROM side.

Moreover, the spokesman reiterated that Greece's negotiating position, "and the way we understand and deal with negotiations, has been unwavering from the first moment; everything was clear, open. In fact, the consistency of Greece's positions was absolutely confirmed at the NATO summit in Bucharest. The validity of our positions is undisputed and our positions remain steadfast to the letter."

Milososki was quoted by local media in Skopje this week as saying "it would be good if we close all the possible issues that could cause misunderstanding in the future", after first accusing the Greek side of "piling on" more issues in negotiations, which acquired a distinct urgency for the FYROM side after Greek leadership more-or-less made clear its position of "no solution, no invitation" to NATO or the EU.

Asked during a regular press briefing at the foreign ministry about the most recent comments by Skopje government officials regarding a "Macedonian minority" in northern Greece and even discussion of such an issue in ongoing negotiations, Koumoutsakos said:

"For Greece there is one specific and defined objective in this negotiation process, in fact, this is the mandate under which the UN Secretary General's envoy, Matthew Nimetz, exercises his duties and mission. The obstructive delay tactics followed by the leadership of Skopje are revealed more and more every day.

"This is confirmed by a series of unacceptable, in terms of manner and content, statements, as well as by this unfortunate attempt to generate non-existent and baseless issues. Greece will not be influenced and will not participate in any attempt to divert negotiations from their objective, which is none other than a mutually acceptable solution to the 'name issue'. Greece will continue to work constructively for a solution," he concluded.

Skopje’s gateway to the EU and NATO is closing

The elections in Skopje that were attended with violence and violations turned FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) into European and American problem, Greek Ethnos online edition announced. According to the author of the article Macedonia suffered a defeat in disaster dimensions over its prestige in abroad as well as its internal political background. Europeans and Americans plainly have doubts weather Skopje is ready to become EU and NATO member state, the edition pointed out.
New York Times newspaper defined Macedonia as the “new problem child of the Balkans”. According to Ethnos’s article the situation about the name issue dispute with Athens is getting different and Greek foreign policy must use its new opportunities after the elections. There is no more chance for Skopje to join Croatia and Albania and to sigh the agreement for NATO membership on July 9, the edition said.

Athens tight-lipped on FYROM election violence

There was no official comment from Greece last night on the violence and suspected irregularities that marred yesterday's parliamentary elections in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and prompted concern among Greek commentators about the potentially explosive situation in the neighboring country.

One person was shot dead and nine wounded in FYROM's ethnic Albanian areas and the electoral commission recorded instances of suspected fraud.

The government in Skopje responded by saying that voting will be repeated in 22 polling stations that were shut down yesterday because of violence or allegations of fraud.

Government spokesman Ivica Bocevski said that problems were reported at 1 percent of polling centers.

As of late last night, the government in Greece had not made any official statement, despite an array of commentators appearing on television to express concern at the situation developing in Greece's northern neighbor.

PASOK's spokesman for foreign affairs, Andreas Loverdos, suggested that some politicians in Skopje had fanned the flames by engaging in nationalistic rhetoric against Greece during their campaigns.

«We Greeks were serious and stayed away from dangerous brinkmanship. From tomorrow, we hope that prudence will prevail so that the necessary compromise solution [to the name dispute] can be found.»

Athens on FYROM poll violence

Greece officially commented on Sunday's violence-plagued general election in the neighbouring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) a day later, with the foreign ministry again emphasising Athens' policy of ignoring much of the nationalistic rhetoric aired during the pre-election period in the landlocked former Yugoslav republic over the recent period.

"Greece, throughout the entire period, carefully and critically monitored and assessed developments in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," foreign ministry spokesman George Koumoutsakos said, adding:

"We share the international community's conclusions over the (violent) incidents, the irregularities and, overall, the democratic deficit that characterised the holding of yesterday's (Sunday) elections ... Beyond this, Greece now expects the continuation of the negotiating process, under the United Nations' auspices, with the representative of the government that will be formed in Skopje, in order to achieve a mutually acceptable solution to the 'name issue' for the benefit of peace, stability and cooperation in the region," he stressed.

Gruevski, the bad boxer from Skopje

These were the words on todays Front Page on Greek Daily "Ta Nea".

The paper analyzes Gruevski, back to his 'boxing days'. It states, -Prime Minister Gruevski in his professional boxing career, has one victory and one loss.

"Five years ago Prime Minister Gruevski 'knocked out' his competition in getting to VMRO's throne. However on the NATO Summit, Greek Prime Minister knocked out Gruevski by issuing veto to his country's NATO admission", says 'Ta Nea'

The Greek Daly went deep into Gruevski biography, saying his family's roots hail from Aegean Macedonia, from Lerin, to be precise.

"Ta Nea" admits Gruevski as a Prime Minister would be the worst choice for Greece. The Greek Daily concludes the article by saying he is a formidable foe because -he is very unpredictable and Greece's Government aren't sure how far he can go.

Greece's Government had hoped that Macedonia would not go to early elections, hence the disappointing reactions from Athens. Early elections, according to numerous Macedonian and foreign analysts would mean strengthening of Gruevski Government. The first choice for Greece had always been the SDSM party, due to their close business and family ties.

Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Ljubisha Georgievski wished all the parties luck at the forthcoming vote, on June 1st.

PM Karamanlis to brief President on NATO summit

Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis will brief on Monday President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias on the outcome of a three-day NATO Summit in Bucharest last week and more particularly on developments regarding the "name issue" of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Greece on Wednesday vetoed an invitation to FYROM to join NATO on the grounds that a mutually acceptable solution on a dispute over the land-locked republic's name had not been reached, due to the neighbouring country's intransigence.

An off-the-agenda debate on the issue of FYROM's name is to take place in Parliament on Thursday, April 10. The debate will be held at party leader level, following a relevant motion submitted by Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.OS) party leader George Karatzaferis.



Greece will not consent to NATO entry for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) while the dispute over its name remains unresolved, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis repeated on Friday, in statements after the conclusion of a NATO summit in Bucharest.

He stressed that Greece's goal was that its smaller, land-locked neighbour to the north should have a "clear composite name for all uses," while adding that Athens was prepared to take part in a new round of negotiations under UN auspices in order to find a name that was mutually acceptable by both sides.

The Greek premier also expressed the opinion that relations with the United States had not been strained as a result of Athens' hard-line stance on this issue at NATO.

"We have a relationship with the United States as allies but that does not mean that we have identical views. On the specific issue it is clear, that views are different. We went along our own views and raised a veto. I do not see shadows cast over bilateral relations," the Greek premier added.

He disagreed, furthermore, with the view that Greece's veto would lead to a wider destabilisation in the region:

"I believe that conditions will soon be ripe to repeat negotiations to find a mutually accepted solution," he said.

Greece's friendly feelings toward FYROM, in general, were also expressed by Karamanlis, who stressed that there was no hostility on the part of Athens and that Greece wanted to support the country's Euro-Atlantic prospects, provided that the issue of the name was first resolved in a satisfactory way.

"The framework of negotiations in known, we have already crossed half the distance and it is now up to FYROM to make the steps that form its own share," he said.

Pointing out that Athens was in favour of the gradual incorporation of all of southeastern Europe into Euro-Atlantic structures, provided that the required terms and criteria were met, he expressed his satisfaction at the invitation extended by NATO to Albania and Croatia, when commenting on the outcome of NATO's decision concerning the 'Adriatic group'.

"We are glad that we can extend an invitation to begin accession negotiations with the first two countries, which have made major efforts. We have invested in their Euro-Atlantic prospects for development and stability of the region. Unfortunately, the same does not also apply for FYROM, since we are not in a position to give our approval as long as the problem of the name exists," he underlined.

According to the Greek premier, the ongoing dispute with FYROM meant that it did not meet NATO's criteria of good neighbour relations, while noting that NATO's charter required new countries wishing to join to first resolve territorial differences or disputes of an irredentist nature with existing members.

In response to questions, Karamanlis indicated that Greece would adopt the same stance when FYROM's application to begin accession negotiations to join the European Union comes up for consideration in September, while saying that there was ample time to find a solution to the "name issue" before that time.

"I consider that there is enough time to find a solution. On the issue of the accession negotiations, our country's stance was, is and will be consistent," he stressed.

Questioned about the results of the NATO summit and how Greece's stance was received by the other allies, Karamanlis said Athens had achieved its diplomatic target at Bucharest and that its veto was a tool that could work toward finding a solution and the ultimate goal, which was a mutually acceptable agreement.

Among the positive points listed by Karamanlis regarding the summit was the fact that all sides had come to understand the true nature of the problem poised by the FYROM "name dispute", which had not been achieved in any of the previous 17 years since it first arose. In addition, Greece was hardly isolated in its views but had received support from several countries, while a general understanding of Greek positions was also expanded during the summit, he said.

Greece strenuously objects to the use of the name "Republic of Macedonia" by FYROM on the grounds that the country's insistence on the name, which is also that of a major northern Greek province on FYROM's border, forms part of an irredentist strategy and expansionist designs.

Karamanlis also commented on other NATO-related issues, among them a proposed enlargement toward Ukraine and Georgia. He stressed that no one could impose on the Alliance whether it should accept new members, provided that the party involved was in agreement and fulfilled the criteria.

On the issue of Afghanistan, he indicated that Greece already participates in the NATO force and can increase its contribution to the effort for reconstruction in the war-ravaged country.

With respect to Russia, the Greek premier said that NATO-Russia cooperation was extremely important for international stability and security. He also noted that the cold war was over and that the challenges now facing NATO and Russia were new ones.

Papandreou: Outcome on FYROM name not decided

The outcome of the diplomatic "war" over the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has not yet been decided, main opposition PASOK's leader George Papandreou asserted on Sunday, during an interview published by the Sunday version of the newspaper "Kathimerini". Papandreou urged the government to steadfastly hold its ground on the "national red line" that formed Greece's position on the issue.

Commenting on PASOK's stance, Papandreou stressed that the party had "fulfilled its role as main opposition with responsibility to the institutions" and said that his proposal to visit FYROM for talks with the leadership there was more timely than ever.

He stressed, meanwhile, that a possible recognition of Kosovo's independence by Greece would be a "dire mistake that we will find facing us".

On the domestic front, he commented on the possibility of cooperation between PASOK and the Coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA) party in Parliament, noting that such a 'grand coalition' was not in touch with Greek political reality while accusing SYRIZA for "remaining stuck in levelling two-fronted thinking and slipping into a political self-satisfaction".

Stressing that PASOK's goal was to achieve an autonomous majority in Parliament, he expressed hope that SYRIZA would "quickly recover from their giddiness and meet with us on the path of the broadest possible democratic and progressive cooperation".

He also criticised the agreement handing Deutsche Telecom a large tranche of Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE), saying the government's policy was not one of "privatisations but lessons in a kleptocratic mechanism".

New era for cooperation

Greece’s veto at the NATO summit is not aimed at FYROM, but against the intransigence and political shortsightedness of the country’s political leadership, which inflates their countrymen’s nationalist illusions, ignoring any willingness for cooperation.

The freeze over Skopje, when its NATO entry was put off indefinitely, revealed how much faith the people had in the USA’s self-seeking encouragement, as well as their leaders’ immaturity. They believed that America’s Balkan policy, based on causing divisions and promoting autonomy, could quell every resistance, every other voice. But Washington cannot impose what it wills where it wills; its stature has been undermined by the course of events in Iraq and its own ongoing financial crisis.

The symbolic defeat in Bucharest may mark the end of illusions and the beginning of maturity for the neighboring country. It may come to see that Greece is not an enemy, quite the contrary; it simply wants to see an accurate geographical name. A joint effort at a solution will not just lead to a mutually acceptable name, but will also forge new paths of cooperation and development, and strengthen the already existing ones.

This should be Greece’s next step, after a solution is found: an assault of friendship and cooperation. Skopje needs Athens and Athens needs Skopje. The two peoples have lived together for centuries, united by more than that which divides them. Peaceful and creative coexistence is the only viable path. Super-nationalist mice that like to roar, secessionist tendencies and the creation of protectorates, Great Ideas and criminality in the dead zones are being encouraged and sparked by elements outside the Balkans.

The Bucharest summit must and can herald in a new period of rapprochement, with honesty and realism, free of arbitrators and malevolent intervention.