Nimetz: Name deal required wise leadership and strategic vision

The UN name mediator in the Macedonia-Greece negotiations, Matthew Nimetz, said Sunday he had received the best birthday gift with the signing of the agreement that finally closes the decades-long name dispute.

Nimetz praised the premiers of Macedonia and Greece, Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras, as well as the countries’ foreign ministers, Nikola Dimitrov and Nikos Kotzias.

“To find solution requires wise leadership, strategic vision and these leaders demonstrated those important qualities.  We don’t often find political courage, strategic vision and diplomatic skill and to find all three of these qualities in four outstanding leaders is really very rare and unique,” Nimetz noted

I believe, he added, that the agreement is in the strategic interest of both countries.

“It has been my pleasure and honor to have worked as mediator and now to have witnessed this agreement. And to have worked closely with ministers Dimitrov and Kotzias, as well as with their distinguished predecessors. The process has been long, difficult but I think that it has resulted in an agreement that really is fair, honorable and workable. It is an example to the region, to Europe and in fact to the world that two neighbors can solve a problem if they really work on it,” the UN envoy said in his speech at the end of the signing ceremony.