Gjorge Ivanov

During a meeting with Macedonian Defense Minister Radmila Shekerinska, he said that Macedonia has shown it has the capacity to focus on democratic processes, defense reforms and become a factor of stability in the region.

"With the consistent implementation of reforms, Macedonia's place is in NATO," Stoltenberg said.

FYROM (Macedonian) President Gjorge Ivanov has vetoed legislation extending the official use of the Albanian language to the entire country, saying it could endanger Macedonia's unity and sovereignty.

Ivanov said on January 17 that the proposed law would introduce a "very expensive redundancy" in state institutions and make state administration dysfunctional.

NATO's secretary general is meeting officials in Skopje to discuss the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's (FYROM) renewed accession bid, a decade after a dispute with neighboring Greece halted an initial effort to join the alliance.

Macedonian academics, diaspora organizations and the right-wing political opposition have called on the President to use his veto against a new law on language adopted on Thursday, insisting that the bill is unconstitutional and against the national interest.

Thessaloniki mayor Yiannis Boutaris made another blunder on the heated topic of the name of FYROM,  after calling the small nation to the north of Greece’s borders “Macedonia” during his meeting with the Balkan country’s President Gjorge Ivanov and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on Thursday. The meeting explored the prospects of furthering business collaborations between the Greek city and Skopje.

Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris will travel to Skopje on Thursday to meet with his counterpart, Petre Silegov, and discuss closer ties between the two cities.

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said a major step has been taken on resolution of the dispute with Greece on the name of Macedonia, France press reported.

The two recent meetings of foreign ministers of both countries in Athens and Skopje helped to establish friendly relations. "This is not a solution, but a big step was taken," the prime minister told Skopje.

Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias will meet on Thursday (31 August) with politicians in Skopje in order to build up further trust between the two countries. But it’s still “early” for a discussion about the name dispute.

Greece's foreign minister, Nikos Kotzias, is slated to pay a one-day visit to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the ministry said in an announcement on Wednesday.

The visit to the capital, Skopje, will take place on Thursday and will include talks on bilateral relations with Kotzias's counterpart, Nikola Dimitrov, which will be followed by joint statement to the press.

A reception on the occasion of the assuming of the Serbian presidency by Aleksandar Vucic will start at 18:00 hours CET in the Palace of Serbia in New Belgrade.