London, January 28th
A visit of Matthew Nimetz to Skopje and Athens in late February or early March is a good opportunity for Macedonia and Greece to once again elaborate their positions on the name issue, as well as to stimulate the UN mediator to boost his engagement towards hopeful progress, Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki and Greek Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas agreed Thursday at their first bilateral meeting in London.
We have talked about the bilateral dispute over the use of Macedonia's constitutional name, Milososki told reporters after the meeting.
Greece expressed reserves towards the initiative for raising the level of liaison offices into embassies in Skopje and Athens, while a possibility for opening a new border crossing was not addressed, Milososki said.
Milososki, who is attending the international conference on Afghanistan in London, also had a brief meeting today with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, discussing Macedonia's contribution to the Afghan mission.
Although Macedonia is one and only member of the international coalition that is still a candidate country for NATO membership, it is the fourth best contributor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Milososki said.
Milososki also presented Macedonia's positions on the name dispute to Clinton. Macedonia is ready to work together with Greece on a compromise solution that meets the international, Interim Accord standards, and principles of respecting the right of self-determination of each and every nation.
Macedonia also supports the Afghan Government plan on security transition, Milososki said at the end of the international conference in London.
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