VZCZCXRO9678
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSQ #0056/01 0240721
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240721Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6932
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE 0165
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL
RUEHSQ/USDAO SKOPJE MK
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUESEN/SKOPJE BETA
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3736

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000056 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIAN FOREIGN MINISTER AND GREEK AMBASSADOR 
IN DIPLOMATIC, BUT POINTED EXCHANGE 
 
REF: SKOPJE 
 
SUMMARY 
--------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) During a January 18 MFA briefing for NATO 
Ambassadors in Skopje, Greek Ambassador Papadopolou engaged 
FM Milososki in a diplomatic but pointed exchange on 
Macedonia's NATO candidacy.  Omitting direct discussion of 
the "name issue," the Greek Ambassador instead focused on 
what she characterized as Macedonia's "political 
immaturity" and lack of "irreversible" reforms as 
hindrances to its NATO candidacy.  For his part, FM 
Milososki commented on Macedonia's "vitality" in meeting 
challenges and its unity on foreign policy priorities.  The 
Greek Ambassador's focus on Macedonia's performance 
shortcomings underscored her effort to persuade the other 
NATO Ambassadors that Macedonia is not ready to join NATO, 
rather than dwelling on the unresolved name dispute as the 
key obstacle to its accession. End summary. 
 
GREEK AMBASSADOR: WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS, BUT YOU ARE NOT 
READY FOR NATO 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) During a January 18 briefing for NATO Ambassadors 
in Skopje, Minister of Defense Elenovski and FM Milososki 
gave upbeat presentations on the country's progress toward 
NATO accession.  Following the presentations, Greek 
Ambassador Papadopolou stirred up the otherwise uneventful 
Q&A session with a lengthy list of comments.  The Greek 
diplomat scrupulously avoided any reference to the hated 
"FYROM" acronym or to any other reference to the host 
country that would have soured the meeting.  Her comments, 
instead, focused entirely on what she described as 
Macedonia's lack of readiness for NATO membership. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Assuring the Macedonians of her friendly 
intentions and expressing satisfaction with recent positive 
developments in the country's political atmosphere, 
Papadopolou said she was not persuaded that the positive 
steps were "irreversible."  She added that the overall 
political climate was "unhealthy" and "immature." 
Papadopolou advised the GOM not to base its security 
planning solely on developments in Kosovo, and urged 
Milososki to instead acknowledge that the country also 
faces unspecified "serious internal security problems." 
She concluded that she could not concur with positive 
assessments of Macedonia's overall progress toward NATO 
membership. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Almost as an afterthought, Papadopolou mentioned 
that good neighborly relations were still "a cornerstone 
for Greece."  She extolled the high rates of Greek private 
investment in Macedonia as "the best example of confidence 
building measures," and said it was time for the two 
countries to move beyond the name issue to resolve it. 
 
FM MILOSOSKI: WE NEED FRIENDS LIKE YOU, AND WE ARE 
DETERMINED TO SUCCEED 
 
----------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) FM Milososki responded in a non-confrontational 
and positive manner, thanking Greece for its "support" and 
"friendship."  He acknowledged the problems and challenges 
any fledgling democracy faces, but stressed his country's 
vitality in meeting such challenges.  Milososki 
characterized government-opposition differences as part of 
any "normal democracy," but pointed to the selection of an 
opposition party president to chair the Parliamentary 
Euro-Integration Committee as proof of the government's 
commitment to consensus-seeking.  Milososki also noted 
that, even though Macedonia's political parties disagreed 
on domestic issues, they are unified in their foreign 
policy goals, which Macedonia hoped "friends like Greece" 
could help them to accomplish. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Responding to the Greek Ambassador's remarks on 
the name issue, Milososki reiterated that there are no 
 
SKOPJE 00000056  002 OF 002 
 
 
Greece-Macedonia problems on the social or security level, 
and pledged to work toward a timely solution to the name 
dispute.  He added, unfortunately, a barbed remark about 
Greece's earlier rejection of the 2005 Nimetz (UN 
negotiator) proposal on the name, which Macedonia at the 
time had accepted. 
 
COMMENT 
-------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The January 18 exchange between Greek Ambassador 
Papadopolou and FM Milososki highlighted the Macedonian 
side's attempt to demonstrate its good neighborly relations 
with Greece and desire to work constructively with Athens 
to overcome the practical obstacles posed by the name 
dispute.  The Greek Ambassador clearly was striving to 
underscore to the other NATO Ambassadors that Macedonia is 
not ready for NATO membership, rather than dwelling on the 
name issue as the central obstacle to the country's 
accession prospects. 
 
MILOVANOVIC