Foreign press on the Macedonian issue

[Astoria]

Greece to block FYROMacedonia's entry into NATO at summit over name disput

Greece's foreign minister said that Athens would block FYROMacedonia's entry to NATO at a summit this week given that a long-standing name dispute between the two countries has not been resolved.
Greece's foreign minister said that Athens would block FYROMacedonia's entry to NATO at a summit this week given that a long-standing name dispute between the two countries has not been resolved.

Greece has been at odds with its neighbor since FYROMacedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Athens argues that the name Macedonia implies territorial claims on its own adjoining province of the same name — an argument FYROMacedonia rejects.

"We have stated our position repeatedly: No solution means no invitation to join NATO," Dora Bakoyannis said.

Talks between the two countries, mediated by the United Nations, have failed to produce an agreement.

FYROMacedonia, Croatia and Albania are hoping to secure invitations to join NATO when the leaders of alliance countries meet in Bucharest, Romania, this Wednesday and Thursday.

Greece refers to its neighbor to the north as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the name used by the United Nations and other international organizations. However, more than 120 countries, including the United States, Russia and Canada, recognize it as Macedonia.

[Truth Bearer]

Apparently Bakoyiannis wrote a letter today to all the major newspapers world wide explaining our position why we will veto them Astoria I've been trying to find it in English it's a beauty and we must post it see if you can find it....It ends with the word in Greek POTE!!!

[Astoria]

NATO chief: FYROMacedonia-Greece dispute puts NATO in dire situation

BUCHAREST, April 2 (Xinhua) -- NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Wednesday that the name dispute between FYROMacedonia and Greece has put the alliance in a difficult situation.

FYROMacedonia is applying for NATO membership at the Bucharest summit. But Greece has threatened to veto the invitation to the former Yugoslav republic should it refuse to change its name.

"The situation is dire and very difficult," de Hoop Scheffer told a youth summit on the sidelines of the NATO summit. "A solution is not in the offing."

In response to a question from a FYROMacedonian, who asked what was the point of Greece being in NATO since FYROMacedonia is committing 4 percent of its troops to NATO operations while Greece only 0.1 percent, de Hoop Scheffer warned that a confrontational attitude is not helpful.

The name dispute is complex for both countries, he said.

The situation is that one country is a NATO member and the other is not, he said, referring to the fact that any NATO ally can veto a decision in the alliance.

He explained that the name dispute is not a NATO issue as the alliance cannot intervene directly. But he pledged that he will make last-ditch efforts to help find a solution. "I want your nation in NATO," he told the FYROMacedonian.

The name dispute has lingered on for more than a decade. Greece fears that the former Yugoslav republic's constitutional name -- Republic of Macedonia -- implies territorial ambition for the neighboring northern Greek province of Macedonia.

FYROMacedonia has been firm on the issue, turning down modification proposals by UN mediator Matthew Nimetz.

Apart from FYROMacedonia, Croatia and Albania are also applying for NATO membership at the summit.

[Astoria]

Bush wants Macedonia in Nato

US president George Bush called on Greece on Wednesday to refrain from vetoing FYROMacedonia's bid to join Nato, Reuters news agency reported on April 2.

If Greece does otherwise, it would threaten to pile further pressure in the Balkan region, Bush said in a keynote speech in Bucharest, where the 26-strong Nato will hold a three-day summit starting April 2.

"Tomorrow in recognition of their progress, Nato will make a historic decision on the admission of three Balkan nations Croatia, Albania and FYROMacedonia," the US president said, as quoted by Reuters.

"These countries have launched the difficult path of reform and built thriving free societies. They are ready to contribute to Nato and their citizens deserve the security that Nato brings," he added.

For weeks, Athens has been threatening to veto the invitation of its northern neighbour over its illegitimate, as Greece calls it, appropriation of the name Macedonia. Greece insists that Macedonia is the legal name of its northernmost province and calls the coutnry the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the name used by the United Nations and other international organisations.

Greek officials have said that Athens was unlikely to change its current position, which is that it would agree to the invitation only if Skopje surrenders any claim on the name Macedonia.

[Astoria]

Dora Bakoyanis: Veto is not end in itself; it is means of Greek diplomacy

2 April 2008 | 16:24 | FOCUS News Agency

Athens. The veto is not an end in itself for Greece, the Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis said, cited by the Greek daily Naftemporiki.
Any action has its opposite reaction, Bakoyannis said explaining the Greek veto for the accession of the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia to NATO.
‘The veto is not an end in itself, it is means of the Greek diplomacy, used with much caution and when it’s necessary’, Bakoyannis added.

[Astoria]

Name dispute puts NATO in difficult situation: Scheffer
2 April 2008 | 17:06 | FOCUS News Agency

Bucharest. The name dispute between FYROMacedonia and Greece has put the Alliance in a difficult situation, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Wednesday as quoted by the world news agencies.
The name dispute is complex for both countries, he said. Scheffer stressed that the situation now is that one country is a NATO member, and the other is not, referring to the fact that any NATO ally can veto a decision in the alliance.
He further noted that the name dispute is not a NATO issue as the Alliance cannot intervene directly, but he pledged that he will make last-ditch efforts to help find a solution.

[Astoria]

FYROMacedonia to receive conditional invitation for NATO?

2 April 2008 | 17:01 | FOCUS News Agency


Skopje. FYROMacedonia will become a NATO member, but conditionally, with a term fixed to find an acceptable solution to the naming dispute. This will most probably be the outcome of the intensive talks in the corridors of the NATO summit in Bucharest and the intense pressure put on Athens and Skopje, Makfax reports, citing an unnamed diplomat. According to Makfax’s source, the invitation for FYROMacedonian would be bound by a term to solve the naming issue. The invitation would be cancelled in case the two countries fail to reach agreement.

[Truth Bearer]

That's a possibility I suppose......hard to see Karamanlis relent to this type of compromise.

[Astoria]

Antenna: Boycott of Greek products and a map of Great Macedonia – new provocations by Skopje

2 April 2008 | 17:47 | FOCUS News Agency

Athens. The nature of the provocations by the Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia is becoming sharper, the Greek TV channel Antenna reported. One of the latest provocations includes the publication of a map of ‘Great Macedonia’ in a FYROMacedonian magazine. The map shows the boundaries of Macedonia stretching to the Greek administrative region of Thessalia – the whole Northern Greece. The Greek TV channel also notes the number of FYROMacedonian companies and citizens, which have received leaflets in their mail, which appeal to boycott Greek products and avoid traveling to Greece.

[Astoria]

Bush Urges Greece to Solve Name Row with FYROMacedonia


US president George Bush called on Greece on Wednesday to refrain from vetoing Macedonia's bid to join NATO. File photo by Kameliya Atanassova (Sofia Photo Agency)

US president George Bush called on Greece on Wednesday to refrain from vetoing FYROMacedonia'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 FYROMacedonia," 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 FYROMacedonia's effort to join NATO, saying the name is a vehicle that aims at annexing the northern Greek province of Macedonia.