The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, Mr. Linas Linkevicius, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, Mr. Titus Corlatean.

During the meeting, they exchanged views on the European perspective of the Republic of Macedonia, the current situation in the country and the region, and confirmed the interest in further development of bilateral relations and cooperation between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Lithuania and Romania. President Ivanov expressed satisfaction with frequent meetings and the level of political dialogue with both countries and praised the successful cooperation between the two ministries with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia.

In the European integration context, President Ivanov thanked for the support of the Republic of Lithuania and Romania and expressed expectation that the Republic of Macedonia will receive a positive report by the European Commission and another recommendation to start accession negotiations with the European Union.

"Status quo is not an option, and does not bring anything good; on the contrary, it decelerates all processes and deepens the gaps. We expect December to finally unblock the Republic of Macedonia's integration, we want the positive example of parallel movement in the integration and in the overcoming bilateral differences to be applicable in our case as well and expect support from all friends in the European Union", President Ivanov said at the meeting.

At the meeting, the Macedonian President briefed the interlocutors with the latest developments in the name issue talks, noting that the Republic of Macedonia remains committed and constructive in finding a compromise solution.

Both Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania and Romania commended the invested efforts of the Republic of Macedonia in the reform process and in meeting the standards for European Union membership and agreed that the country deserves to be given a date to start accession negotiations. In this regard, Ministers Linkevicius and Corlatean pledged for further support from Lithuania and Romania in order to overcome the challenges and completing the European integration process of the Republic of Macedonia.