Greece: Name with geographic qualifier in relation to everyone

Greece’s representative made it clear to the UN envoy that there can be no launch of Macedonia’s EU accession talks without prior resolution of the long-running issue over the name.

UN mediator on the name issue Matthew Nimetz had a working dinner with Greece’s negotiator Adamantios Vassilakis on Thursday evening. Vassilakis briefed Nimetz on the initiatives of the Greek government regarding the name issue.

“Our position is crystal clear and known to all. We seek a definitive solution to this matter. A composite name with a geographical qualifier in relation to everyone, erga omnes”, Vassilakis said.

“We speak clearly, so that there will be no surprises or misunderstandings. Mr. Nimetz expressed his intention of hosting a trilateral meeting in the immediate future.”

Asked to comment media speculations in Skopje that Greece was prepared to make concessions, Vassilakis denied the speculations as “ludicrousness unworthy of comment”, adding that no such discussion has ever taken place.

Nimetz is due to meet with Macedonia’s negotiator Zoran Jolevski and later go ahead with convoking a trilateral encounter with Greek and Macedonian negotiators.