At the moment, we are building friendly relations with Greece and strengthening the trust between the two sides in order to be friendly for the moment when the serious name dispute should be resolved, answered Prime Minister Zoran Zaev at today’s press conference where he shared his impressions from the participation of the 72nd General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.
Regarding the name dispute, the prime minister also said that he would not discuss the fact that Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Kotzias briefed Greek journalists, but only added that they discussed with him that the two countries were friendly.
“At the moment, the two countries are building confidence measures that can be helpful when the moment comes to discuss the issue. There was no discussion of essential issues, I am now not ready to discuss issues related to identity. Greece has visited one million of our citizens, it is truly worthwhile to make efforts for Macedonia to move towards Euro-Atlantic integration”, added Zaev.
Regarding the change of the name of the airport, he said that “the comments went too far” and that at this time, no provocations from the Macedonian side will be permitted.
“We need to be ready to solve the problem, because it means an automatic invitation for NATO membership and the beginning of negotiations with the European Union”, said Zaev.
He informed that next spring, the EU will discuss giving opportunities to the countries of the Western Balkans to start the negotiations.
“By next spring, I want Macedonia to be one of the countries that will start the negotiations for EU membership. By then or by the middle of 2018 it is logical to expect new ideas about the name from the mediator Matthew Nimetz”, said Zaev.
