U.S. and Nimetz Work Hard to Beat the Clock on Greece-Skopje Negotiations

U.S. administration launched a new diplomatic effort last Friday in order to save Skopje's NATO candidacy. Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, addressing the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday, outlined the reasons why Greece is not in a position to be positive towards the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's (FYROM) bid for NATO accession.

A possible Greek veto at the NATO Summit in Bucharest, April2-4 will leave Skopje out of NATO and very vulnerable, especially if Albania gets a green light. According to a report by STRATFOR, a U.S. based think tank, “if Albania were in NATO and 'Macedonia' were not, Albania would use the leverage to seek ethnic and perhaps even territorial concessions. Just as Greece can block membership now, Albanian membership would allow Albania to extort 'Macedonia'”.

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