Macedonia urges Greece not to block its NATO bid (SETimes.com)

Macedonia urges Greece not to block its NATO bid
SETimes.com

"Macedonia urges Greece not to block its NATO bid

19/12/2007

SKOPJE, Macedonia -- Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki told reporters on Tuesday (December 18th) that Macedonia has asked Greece not to block its NATO accession bid and has suggested high-level talks regarding the long-standing name dispute. He added that Greece's right to veto the accession was akin to having a nuclear bomb. Athens considers the official name of Macedonia to be an attempt to steal Greece's cultural heritage and a territorial claim of the Greek province with the same name. UN-sponsored talks on the issue resume next month in Skopje.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sided with Skopje in the name dispute Tuesday. After meeting with Macedonian counterpart, Nikola Gruevski, he said it is 'wrong' to ask a country to change its official name. (Turkish Daily News, Utrinski Vesnik, Vecer, Zaman, Xinhua - 19/12/07; AP, Xinhua, Makfax, A1, MIA, - 18/12/07)"