Nimetz Excludes 'Identity' Issues From Macedonia Talks

During his visit to the Macedonia, UN mediator Matthew Nimetz said that issues about [Macedonian] "identity" are not part of his mandate - and that he had not heard the Greek side denying the identity of the people who live in Macedonia.

"There are differences between the two countries but I don't hear from Athens a denial of [Macedonian] identity," Nimetz told a joint press conference with the Macedonian Foreign Minister, Nikola Dimitrov.

Dimitrov also shared the UN mediator's optimism that the "name" talks were on the right track, adding that they had discussed some of the compromise name proposals that Nimetz extended to both sides in January in New York in detail.

"We told him that there are ideas that are not that bad, and that there are those which are not that good," Dimitrov said, without going onto details himself.

Regarding fears in Macedonia that the talks could end up with a settlement that denies Macedonian national identity, Dimitrov said that renaming the Macedonian identity and the Macedonian language were non-negotiable points.

"If we reach a point where we need to touch the identity [of Macedonia] in order to reach a solution, there will unfortunately not be a solution. However, it will be very sad if two European countries in 2018 are not big enough to acknowledge this," Dimitrov said.

Before meeting Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, President Gjorge Ivanov and opposition chief Hristijan Mickoski, Nimetz said that the noticeable "momentum" in the "name" talks should be used to reach a solution.

"The next couple of months will decide whether we're making real progress or not," he told the media.

The dispute centres on Greece's insistence that use of the word Macedonia...