UN envoy Nimetz sends letter to ministers ahead of Ohrid meeting

UN name envoy Matthew Nimetz has reportedly sent a letter to the foreign ministers of Macedonia and Greece, Nikola Dimitrov and Nikos Kotzias respectively, in which he elaborates the current state of play in the name negotiations.

Namely, the letter outlines the items over which there is agreement and those over which there are differences as they had been formulated during the Vienna talks. The letter was sent to the ministers ahead of their latest meetings in Ohrid on Wednesday evening and on Thursday.

The news about the letter has been reported by several media outlets in Greece, including Kathimerini daily, Athens 98.4 FM radio and the web portal News247 citing their own sources.

The Greek Foreign Ministry has neither confirmed nor denied the news that Nimetz had sent a letter to both Dimitrov and Kotzias, MIA Athens correspondent reports on Wednesday.

“According to some sources, the latest letter by Nimetz has been reflecting the crystallized positions of the US diplomat involving the issue as they had been formulated after his latest hours-long meeting with the foreign ministers of Greece and FYROM in Vienna (30-31 March). The same sources mentioned that Nimetz drafted the items that should serve as parameters for a name solution,” reported the newspaper Kathimerini.

Athens 98.4 FM said that the mediator had pre-planned the procedure. “The two ministers are expected to answer the questionnaire that was sent to them ahead of their scheduled joint talks,” it reported.

Citing its own sources, News247 wrote that it is third such letter drafted by the mediator for the two ministers and that it represents ‘an intervention of sorts and his contribution to the key meeting in Ohrid.’