The Head of Greek Diplomacy, Nikos Kotzias is preparing bold new moves and initiatives in the negotiations to resolve the name dispute. Greek newspaper “Ethnos”, claims that Mr Kotzias has developed a plan which will bring progress in the negotiations for June, whose implementation were late due to September’s parliamentary elections. Allegedly, the United States and the European Union demanded that the 20-year dispute be resolved in the next coming months so Macedonia can be admitted as a member of NATO during the NATO Summit in Warsaw next July.
It is believed that due to pressure from the US and the Europeans, the resolution of the name dispute has returned high on the agenda list of the Greek government. According to “Ethnos”, the Greek side plans to continue to implement confidence-building measures, and to open discussion about new ideas about a potential name in negotiations with the Macedonian government.
The reason for the increased pressure on Macedonia and Greece to resolve the name dispute as soon as possible, according to the newspaper, is the current refugee crisis and fears of a possible destabilization of Macedonia. Estimates are that these pressures will only increase, espeically during the visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry and the Deputy Secretary of State, Victoria Nuland, in Greece this November.
However, an analysis of the situation, “Ethnos” explains that Greece will find itself in a new and complex situation with new traps and trickery. As an example, the newspaper used the idea of mediator Matthew Nimetz to allow Macedonia’s accession to NATO under the provisional reference, which would mean that the government will have to guarantee that it will resolve the dispute until its accession into the EU. An alternative idea, reportedly Nimetz’s, is for Macedonia to join NATO with a composite name which will be for general use, or “erga omnes“, and would be started to be used as a constitutional name when Macedonia joins the EU.
