Macedonia Dismisses Russian 'Threat' to Name Deal

The fate of Macedonia's historic agreement with Greece does not depend on the UN Security Council - where Russia has power of veto - the Macedonian government said on Wednesday, responding to fears that the Kremlin might try to block the deal.

Government spokesperson Mile Bosnjakovski on Wednesday said that the UN-sponsored talks on solving the dispute with Greece over Macedonia's name would be considered successfully finished when both sides inform the UN Secretary General that they have reached a mutually acceptable solution.

The UN chief would only forward this information to the UN Security Council and not seek its opinion, the government spokesperson said. "The Security Council won't discuss or take decisions on the matter", Bosnjakovski explained.

Concerns arose after Russia on Monday pronounced the agreement dead in the light of the low turnout in Sunday's referendum in Macedonia.

On Monday in a press statement the Russian Foreign Ministry assessed that, after the majority of voters boycotted the referendum, the "name" agreement was practically dead.

The Kremlin also hinted that the Greece-Macedonia talks should be a matter of discussion in the Security Council, where Moscow has the right of veto.

"As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia is closely monitoring the development of this situation. We proceed from the fact that according to paragraph 3 of UN Security Council Resolution 845, the results of the talks between Skopje and Athens will be considered at the UN Security Council," the Kremlin wrote.

BIRN on Wednesday asked the Russian Foreign Ministry to clarifify this statement but did not get a reply by time of publication.

Dimitar Bechev, a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Europe...