Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikola Dimitrov, in an interview with Deutsche Welle on his visit to Germany, expressed strong confidence that negotiations with Greece over the name dispute, which have gone on for a long time, will continue by the end of the year.
“During a visit by Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Kotzias, last Wednesday in Skopje, we discussed confidence building measures. We have not yet started negotiations. They will start definitively before the end of the year. I do what I think should be the work of diplomats: solving problems, opening doors and creating friends. Perhaps we can not change history, but we can certainly try to influence the future and make life better for our citizens today. This is our goal”, says Dimitrov.
In the interview, he stressed that the Balkan route of migrants must remain closed.
“I think we should do everything necessary to keep it closed, because we, all of us, including the refugees, have an interest in organized assistance and we have to fight illegal migration”, said Dimitrov.
Asked whether Macedonia is ready to receive EU refugees, he says this could happen only after the country becomes a member of the Union.