Today, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said that it will not be possible to reach the next step in the process of resolving the name dispute before his next meeting on Thursday in Sofia, with Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras.
“There has been information saying it’s ready, and that it will be resolved by the 17th… this is not the case. I would like it to be resolved somewhere before the Council of Europe Summit, and the European Council, that is 25, 26, and 28 and 29 June. That is when decisions are made regarding whether we receive a date for negotiations or not. Even if we have a solution by then, we need to know that if there is an approximation of what remains, we have to make an internal consultation process in Greece and Macedonia”, said Zaev.
He stressed that the meeting with the Greek Prime Minister is not a culmination of the negotiation process so far, as the essential issues are still at the table, and that at the meeting in Sofia, it is necessary to recapitulate of what has already been achieved and give directions to ministers Nikola Dimitrov and Nikos Kotzias , who lead the negotiation process.
