Alternate Foreign Minister: FYROM name settlement must end Skopje’s irredentism

One day after the UN special representative on the FYROM naming issue, Matthew Nimetz, indicated in an interview that the word Macedonia will be part of any final name agreed to by the parties, Alternate Foreign Minister Yorgos Katrougalos responded sharply to critics who claim the government has ceded the name Macedonia to Skopje.

“Nothing has been given away, and one cannot skew the statements of officials, such as Mr. Nimetz or representatives of the other side,” Katrougalos said.

The minister was referring to Nimetz’s interview with Greek ANT1 television yesterday evening, in which he noted that even the interim name FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), with which Skopje was admitted to the UN and which Greece accepts, included the name Macedonia.

Nimetz was speaking on the eve of his meeting today between the negotiators for the two sides in New York, during which he said he will table a proposal that will include elements of previous proposals that one or both of the parties have rejected during the past quarter century of negotiations, which always ended in an impasse.

Open-ended negotiations

“The negotiation is open. It has created a small window of opportunity. In no way is the outcome given, all the more so because there are no results at the moment. Whenever there will be any progress, parliament will be briefed, and above all the Greek people will be informed,” the minister said.

Responding to charges from main opposition New Democracy, Katrougalos said that no one can speak of secret diplomacy when the targets of the negotiation have been made clear by the government from the start.

“The aim is to find a solution regarding the name that will not allow it to function as a vehicle of irredentism, and which will remove all irredentist elements from the politics of our neighbouring country, to the benefit of both sides and of stability and good neighbourly relations in the region,” Katrougalos said of the ongoing talks.

in.gr