The Prime Minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Zoran Zaev reminded his people on Sunday that their country will be denied NATO membership if it fails to resolve name-dispute with Greece.
Speaking with MIA news agency, Zaev said that the possibility of joining NATO as FYROM has been ruled out point-blank by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during his visit to Skopje.
Zaev claimed there was great efforts for a solution to the name issue during a meeting between the FYROM and Greek foreign ministers in Vienna on March 30 and hinted that the next meeting on April 12 might bring further developments and even lead to a meeting between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and himself.
"I believe the progress in the talks has reached a point where this must pass to the level of the Prime Ministers of the countries. If the citizens learn that there is a Zaev-Tsipras meeting, this will be specific, practical confirmation that the negotiations are heading in the right direction and it is possible to reach a solution," he said.
The FYROM issue is far more than a name. It is about who owns Hellenic history, heritage and culture. It is about Hellenic soil and the existance of the nation itself. It concerns the many provocations by FYROM ministers who have publicly exposed maps depicting FYROM almost down to AThens, and who have alleged that our very heritage was theirs and never ours. We wish to live in peace around the world with every body but we will never again live in slavery