FYROM digs heels in on name
Skopje yesterday warned it would be «dangerous» for Athens to veto its NATO accession bid because of the Macedonia name dispute, as Greece and the EU reiterated calls for a compromise. «It would be very dangerous if Greece’s veto right (as a NATO member) becomes the right to veto the choice of a name,» said Branko Crvenkovski, prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). FYROM’S Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki remarked that the «more energetic role» by Washington in efforts to reach a settlement «does not change the procedure within the established framework» under the mediation of United Nations envoy Matthew Nimetz. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn appealed to FYROM to «display the political will» to reach an agreement. Greece’s Defense Minister Evangelos Meimarakis, attending a security summit in Sofia, also urged Skopje to make a move, saying Athens had made its gesture by consenting to the inclusion of the word «Macedonia» in FYROM’s new name.
