Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Prime Minister Zoran Zaev has said three of seven outstanding issues negotiated regarding the country’s name have been closed.
According to the Athens Macedonian News Agency (AMNA), Zaev talked to reporters in his country during a visit to Negotino town.
“It is important to build trust between the two sides in the direction of solving the naming problem,” Zaev said.
“I am glad that all the open issues have actually been discussed. If we start from the seven positions that were the starting point for the negotiations, I know they have now dropped to four; the other three have been closed. I believe that the policy of the new government will soon be able to close the other issues,” he added.
The FYROM prime minister did not specify what the three outstanding issues were, but said that the easy issues had been resolved.
Asked about the geographical definition, Zaev confirmed it was an acceptable choice for his country and said that several names had been mentioned.
“This means that for us a name with a geographical definition is acceptable, that is, we reject all others, such as a chronological definition or some other suggestions,” Zaev said.
The FYROM premier also said that Tuesday’s meeting of UN mediator Matthew Nimetz in Vienna with Greek Foreign Ministers Nikos Kotzias and his FYROM counterpart Nikola Dimitrov signaled the start of negotiations on the name issue and added it is very important to find a solution that takes into account national identity issues.
“We are really optimistic about finding a solution. Of course, some messages are sent from the Greek side regarding some red lines. I believe that we need to find a solution for the wellbeing of the citizens of the two countries,” Zaev said.
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