The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, before the end of his visit to the United States, on the sidelines of the 67th United Nations General Assembly, met with the UN mediator in the Macedonia-Greece name talks, Matthew Nimetz.

Ambassador Nimetz, after the meeting with the Macedonian President in New York, said that the judgment of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, related to the dispute between Macedonia and Greece, is significant, and it should be taken into consideration.

“It is my opinion that the ruling of the International Court of Justice deserves to be considered and observed. I am not an expert on this particular aspect, it does not fall under my mandate, which is mediation between the two countries under the Security Council resolutions and the Interim Accord. However, it is clear that ICJ is one of the key world institutions and its decisions need to be fully respected”, Ambassador Nimetz said after the meeting with President Ivanov.

The mediator in the dispute announced that his next step will be organizing a meeting of the two appointed negotiators, Zoran Jolevski and Adamantios Vassilakis, probably within a month, and he is also thinking to visit the region, when he assumes it is best time for it. Ambassador Nimetz said that in New York, despite with Ivanov, he had a meeting with the Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, when he received assurances that both sides are ready for talks. He added that Avramopoulos assured him that the extremely difficult financial situation of Greece does not mean that this country does not have the capacity to work to the settlement of the dispute.

He commended on the personal engagement of the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who, after his recent visit to Macedonia, had a telephone conversation with the Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, to intensify the talks.

“It is good news for me, because these talks were really slow in the past year out of several reasons. A solution was long to be found; this dispute creates a lot of frustration in the international community and in the region. I know that the UN Secretary General strongly wants this to happen, and issued really strong instructions to see what can be done to bring the two countries closer to a solution”, Matthew Nimetz said.

Тој го истакна и личниот ангажман на генералниот секретар на Обединетите нации, Бан Ки-мун, кој по неодамнешната посета на Македонија телефонски разговарал со грчкиот премиер Андонис Самарас, да се интензивираат разговорите.

„Тоа е добра вест за мене, бидејќи овие разговори навистина беа бавни во изминатата година, од повеќе причини. Решение требаше одамна да се најде, и овој спор создава многу фрустрации во меѓународната заедница и во регионот. Знам дека генералниот секретар на ОН силно сака ова да се случи, и даде навистина силни инструкции да се види што може да се стори за да ги приближиме двете земји,“ изјави Метју Нимиц.

According to President Ivanov, the personal engagement of the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, to intensify the talks, is the most significant move in the dispute which resulted from this year's United Nations General Assembly.

"If I compare my participation at the previous three sessions of the General Assembly, I believe this is the most successful one, because it was very comprehensive, starting with the meeting with the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, held on his request. The Secretary General presented his views after his visit to Macedonia when he promised personal involvement in overcoming the dispute. I could feel his commitment following the meeting we had in Macedonia", President Ivanov said after his speech in the UN.

The President added that the Secretary General personally instructed his envoy in the dispute, Ambassador Matthew Nimetz to intensify the talks between Macedonia and Greece, and consequently, urged Nimitz to arrange a meeting of the two negotiators in the course of this month.

The Macedonian President said that in the past period, the talks were postponed many times, because the Greek side is trying to avoid deepening of the talks.

"There are constantly setbacks by the Greek side, there will be elections, the economic crisis is the reason for the delay. This issue blocks our strategic goals. It is a burden for us. Greece is not burdened with it. Greece does not feel the need to put this issue on top of its agenda", President Ivanov said.

To settle the name dispute, the President said, it is necessary to restore the dispute within the frameworks set by the Interim Accord and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 817, which provides for the talks to be led on the name difference. According to him, over the years, the scope of this issue was extended to other areas that are not part of the resolution, such as identity, Macedonian language, toponyms, and, lately, historical issues.