July 02, 2008 2:17 PM
TIRANA, Jul 02, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- French President
Nicolas Sarkozy has urged Macedonia to redouble its efforts in finding
a solution to its name dispute with Greece, news reaching here from Skopje
reported on Wednesday.
"I call on you, as I called on the Greek authorities on my visit to
Athens in June, to redouble the efforts in finishing the negotiations over
the name issue," Sarkozy said in a letter to his Macedonian counterpart
Branko Crvenkovski.
Greece opposes its northern neighbor being called Macedonia, arguing
it implies a territorial claim over a Greek northern province of the same
name.
The issue has been dogging the two neighbors for the past 17 years,
and prompted Greece to veto Macedonia's NATO bid in April.
"It is necessary for this issue to stop being an obstacle for the legitimate
aspirations of your people for European Union and NATO accession," Sarkozy
said.
Sarkozy said that France will continue to support Macedonia on its road
to join the EU. France took over the six-month rotating presidency of the
EU from Slovenia on July 1.
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