Letter to the Prime Minister of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Nikola Gruevski

HELLENIC REPUBLIC THE PRIME MINISTER
Athens, 14 February 2012

Your Excellency,

Thank you for your letter dated January 22, 2012, which was conveyed to me through your Deputy Prime Minister Mrs. Arifi during her recent visit to Athens.

I also wish to assure Your Excellency of the commitment of Greece to continue and enhance its longstanding policy for peace and stability in our region. To that effect and in the context of cooperation in the Western Balkans, Greece has always actively and consistently worked to promote good relations with and among all its neighbours. This principle remains a cornerstone for progress and constitutes a necessary element for the achievement of our common goal in this respect: the Euro-atlantic integration of all countries in our area. Our initiative “Agenda 2014″ clearly serves this purpose and will actively be pursued by the coming Greek Presidency of the EU.

With regard to our bilateral relations, to which Greece attaches great importance, as proved by the cooperation in various fields and eminently in the economic sector, I hope that they can be further improved to the benefit of both our peoples.

As for the name issue, our position is that it should be resolved through meaningful negotiations under the auspices of the UN; therefore, I encourage you to work towards this goal in a constructive manner. The forthcoming visit of Mr. Nimetz to our region is expected to contribute to the ongoing process for the resolution of the issue, provided that both sides show the necessary political will.

In light of the above, 1 would like to propose that we meet in the margin of the next European Council scheduled to take place in early March.

Please accept, Excellency, the assurance of my highest consideration.