Skopje not hopeful of quick ICJ ruling

Macedonian officials expect the ICJ to take at least three years to rule on Skopje’s dispute with Greece on NATO. The Macedonian authorities decided to launch legal proceedings against Greece a month ago before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, accusing Athens of blocking Macedonia’s NATO accession, because it insists that Macedonia cannot join the Alliance under its Constitutional name. Skopje not hopeful of quick ICJ ruling "Based on the experiences of the people we’ve worked with and who have had experiences with the court, I think that it will take between three to five years to settle that case,” Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Miloshoski said. He said that the two sides should keep working to find an acceptable solution through UN, something that would require political will. "We want to reach a compromise, but we cannot accept something that is being imposed on us. That issue is an important one for Greece, but for Macedonia it’s an issue of national importance,” he said. Greece opposes Macedonia joining NATO under its current name, since Macedonia is the name of Greece’s northern province. However, Skopje alleges that Greece is in breach of the 1995 agreement between the two countries, when it was agreed that Macedonia would use the name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” in international organizations. The agreement stipulated that Greece would not block Macedonia’s efforts at EU and NATO integration.

Skopje not hopeful of quick ICJ ruling

"Based on the experiences of the people we’ve worked with and who have had experiences with the court, I think that it will take between three to five years to settle that case,” Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Miloshoski said.

He said that the two sides should keep working to find an acceptable solution through UN, something that would require political will.

"We want to reach a compromise, but we cannot accept something that is being imposed on us. That issue is an important one for Greece, but for Macedonia it’s an issue of national importance,” he said.

Greece opposes Macedonia joining NATO under its current name, since Macedonia is the name of Greece’s northern province.

However, Skopje alleges that Greece is in breach of the 1995 agreement between the two countries, when it was agreed that Macedonia would use the name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” in international organizations.

The agreement stipulated that Greece would not block Macedonia’s efforts at EU and NATO integration.