Greece’s Skai TV: Macedonian minister, party leader voice optimism over name settlement

There is consensus as to whether we should negotiate, as to whether we should accept some kind of compromise, because both conservative and social democratic administrations have at some point accepted certain compromises, Macedonian Defense Minister Radmila Sekerinska told Greece’s Skai TV.

Speaking as a guest of the TV show ‘Istories’, Sekerinska said that the former governments of Macedonia had okayed a compromise, for instance the name “The Republic of Macedonia – Skopje”, thus she said she believed Macedonia had reached a consensus regarding the need to find a solution, MIA’s correspondent reports from Athens.

“The fact we are negotiating some kind of compound name with some kind of adjectives or qualifiers showcases that there are doubts, emotions, but that at the same time there is willingness to move ahead,” Sekerinska stated, Skai TV reported.

According to her, in the past 25 years better opportunities for name settlement have been opened, however, there was always something missing.

“It takes two to tango and we completely get it. Hence, genuine commitment is necessary by the two parties, and also a little bit of audacity for the process to move forward. I truly believe we have a history of missed opportunities and I think we should make use of this experience to be able to say where we want our countries to be in 25 years,” stressed Minister Sekerinska.

In the same TV show, DUI leader Ali Ahmeti said the Macedonian government was ‘reform-oriented’ noting that he believed that as such the 25-year long dispute between Skopje and Athens would be finally solved.

“We are a nameless country, we have a provisional name, FYROM. In practice, we are trying to finally get a normal name under the ongoing negotiations,” said Ahmeti, Skai TV reported.

Asked whether DUI would support constitutional changes if necessary, the party leader said DUI stood ready to support the process to result in a final solution.

“We support progress. To close this chapter would be a major achievement. It will relieve us of a burden, something we have been carrying for years. We are ready. We were ready in the past to support the process for a final solution, because we are very much interested in our country integrating into NATO and the EU,” Ali Ahmeti told Skai’s Istories.