The Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitris Avramopoulos will visit Skopje on Wednesday, where he will meet FYROM’s Deputy Prime Minister Fatmir Besimi. Mr. Besimi, who belongs to the Albanian DUI part, is considered a moderate politician. The two men met in the past during the Lucas Papadimos administration, when Mr. Avramopoulos was Minister of National Defense.

Recently, many European countries and the USA appear to be less patient with FYROM’s Prime Minister Gruevski. The leader of the Albanian DUI party Ali Ahmeti will visit the USA and is scheduled to meet Vice President Joe Bidden. It is quite rare for an American Vice President to meet with a party leader rather than a government official.

Former ambassador to FYROM and current Assistant Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in charge of West Balkan Affairs Philip Reeker was critical in arranging the meeting between Bidden and Ahmeti. It appears that the intention is to solve the outstanding problems in the Balkans, such as the naming dispute with FYROM and the stabilization of Kosovo.