UN envoy convenes talks on former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia name issue
By UN News
Since 1999, Matthew Nimetz has been holding talks with the two sides and proposed compromise names in his capacity as the Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy for the talks.
UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters that the purpose of the meeting was to give the parties an opportunity to present to Mr. Nimetz and to each other the respective positions of their governments regarding the differences between them.
The meeting also sought to ascertain whether there are areas that should be explored further and to determine the next steps in the process with the overall goal of reaching a speedy resolution to the name issue, he added.
The Interim Accord of 13 September 1995, which was brokered by the UN, details the difference between the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Greece on the name issue. It also obliges the two countries to continue negotiations under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General to try to reach agreement.
In 1944 Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia changed the name of his country’s southern province from VARDAR BANOVINA to the SOCIAL REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA to stir up disorter in northern Greece in order to communize the area & gain an outlet to the Aegean Sea for his country. The name MACEDONIA has been part of Greek history & culture for 3,500 years & is the name of Greece’s largest northern province. Greece does not dispute that a part of historic Macedonia lies within FYROM & are prepared to accept a compound name eg “NORTH MACEDONIA”, but FYROM insists on being sole claimant to the name of the whole area, the largest part of which lies outside its borders.
I live in the USA. To our south is Mexico. Also on the border we have a state named New Mexico. We have no problems over the names.
Maybe FYROM could be named New Macedonia.