On July 10, 2007, Macedonia’s Foreign Minister had a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice regarding Macedonia’s progress on its road towards NATO membership. United Macedonian Diaspora is grateful for the support the United States has given to Macedonia since independence in 1991.
Source: U.S. Department of State Daily Press Briefing on July 10, 2007
QUESTION: Mr. McCormack, on FYROM. Anything to say about this —
MR. MCCORMACK: (Inaudible.)
QUESTION: FYROM.
MR. MCCORMACK: Okay, okay.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.) Anything to say about the — today’s meeting between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Foreign Minister of FYROM Antonio Milososki?
MR. MCCORMACK: Yeah. They had a good meeting and they talked about a wide range of topics. They talked about the neighborhood. They talked about Kosovo. They talked about bilateral relations between Macedonia and Greece. And one of the things the Secretary underlined was the importance of Macedonia working in the UN process to resolve the name issue, including Greece. As you know, we have made our own decision on that, as have other countries, but it’s an important issue to resolve.
QUESTION: She emphasized?
MR. MCCORMACK: Excuse me?
QUESTION: She — the Secretary emphasized that —
MR. MCCORMACK: It is one among a number of different things. She — and look, there is no pushback from the Foreign Minister. He said that this was something that they are engaged in, they are willingly engaged in, and actively engaged in.
They also talked about the fact that Macedonia has contributed troops and is contributing troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Secretary thanked him for those contributions.
What else? That was basically it. It was mostly neighborhood issues, Afghanistan, Iraq and bilateral relations between Greece and Macedonia.
QUESTION: Mr. McCormack, who asked for the meeting — the Secretary or Mr. Milososki? And how long lasted?
MR. MCCORMACK: It lasted half an hour, as they typically do, as these foreign minister meetings do. I can’t tell you who asked for the meeting. It’s a mutual consent. I mean, she — Secretary Rice wanted to see him.
QUESTION: Okay. And the last one. Did he invite the Secretary to visit Skopje, and how soon?
MR. MCCORMACK: I don’t think that there was a specific invitation during this meeting, but the Secretary at some point, I am sure, looks forward to visiting Macedonia.