The proposal tabled yesterday by the UN special representative on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia naming issue appears to have stirred divisions in Skopje between Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and the country’s negotiator and ambassador to the US, Vasko Naumovski.
While Naumovski was quick to dismiss the proposal as an undignified solution for his country, which might be interpreted simply as a tough initial negotiating posture, his government hastened to welcome it as creating the preconditions for a settlement.
In its statement, the government of FYROM underlines that it is dedicated to resolving the dispute with Greece on the constitutional name of the country, and that Nimetz’s proposal establishes the preconditions for negotiating process to move forward.
The statement welcomed the renewed talks, which allow for a friendly approach and the building of mutual trust.
The FYROM government stated that after a careful analysis of the framework presented by Nimetz, and based on the importance of the issue for the state’s interests, the process of hammering out a broad position, without exclusions, will continue.
“I think the situation in the region is somewhat different. The participants are different,” Nimetz told reporters in New York, without revealing the name or the parameters of the settlement that he proposed.
“I view this as a good set of ideas, a compromise and a package that both sides should feel comfortable with and lead to a dignifying and satisfying solution,” the UN mediator concluded
