HIGHLIGHTS OF BRIEFING BY PERSONAL ENVOY OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR GREECE-FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA TALKS

Ambassador Matthew Nimetz, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Greece-former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Talks, speaking to journalists at the Palais des Nations following his meeting today with the representatives of Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to continue the ongoing discussion on the “name” issue pursuant to United Nations resolutions, said his meeting today between the Ambassadors of the two countries came as part of a series of meetings on the “name” issue. The main purpose of this meeting was to prepare for his meetings in Skopje on 6 and 7 July and in Athens at the end of 7 July and on 8 and 9 July. The purpose of those meeting obviously was to see whether there was an area to find agreement on this issue. They spent a few hours today probing the various aspects of the issue. No new proposals were made, but he pushed very hard on some of the issues that have been blocking the agreement.

“I feel that the time is right to push this issue forward as rapidly as we can and that is my purpose to go to the region to test the waters,” said Mr. Nimetz.

Asked why he felt that the time was right now for a resolution to this issue, Mr. Nimetz said it was in the interest of the parties to move forward. That had been elections in both countries, and during time the political leaders were focused on elections and not on such issues as the “name” issue, now with the elections behind them, it was a good time to resolve the issue. There were also issues in the region affecting the security and harmony in the region, the European Union process, the relationship between the two countries, the general tone, all these cried out for solving this problem so that the two countries could work harmoniously together in a positive way to strengthen peace and security in the region.

In response to another question, Mr. Nimetz said that the positions of the two sides had been entrenched, but positions could change and accommodations could be made and there was a healthy respect and understanding in both countries of the position of the other side. He believed that there were dignified solutions that met the needs of both sides. He had given the two sides some ideas last October, and he believed that those were still on the table. Both sides had studied them, and some of the ideas were worth pursuing and he would continue to push forward some of them.

Answering another question, Mr. Nimetz said there was no breakthrough today, but then again he did not expect one. The fact that no solution came out of a meeting did not mean that they should not have a meeting. There was a process here which both sides agreed to. They were constantly testing different proposals. This process was an important one, between two peaceful countries that had a healthy respect for each other. The issue had historical roots that went very very deep. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations under that temporary designation, it was not a name, it was a designation pending the resolution of the question. The process would determine a name that would work and that satisfied both sides. It was a pretty unusual type of dispute, it was a real one, and trying to find a solution was taking a long time.