Polish FM in Skopje for Macedonian EU, NATO membership talks
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
12.03.2018 08:07
Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz is on Monday to visit Skopje for talks with his Macedonian counterpart about bilateral ties and Macedonia's accession to the European Union and NATO.
View of Skopje from Vodno, southwest of the Macedonian capital. Photo: Jasne/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Czaputowicz and Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov are set to open the seventh Skopje Conference, an annual Polish-Macedonian forum on European integration.
Czaputowicz's visit to Skopje "confirms Poland's willingness to develop very good relations with the country in such fields as the economy, defence, culture and education," the Polish foreign ministry said in a statement.
"It is also a sign of recognition for the Republic of Macedonia's achievements in seeking to open accession negotiations with the European Union, and an expression of support for the country's NATO membership," the Polish foreign ministry added.
Czaputowicz is also set to meet Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and to take part in events marking the 75th anniversary of deportations in Word War II of Macedonian Jews to the Treblinka death in German-occupied Poland during World War II.
Macedonia, referred to internationally as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), gained its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.
It has been an official EU candidate since 2005. But accession talks have stalled over a decades-long dispute with Greece over the countries' claims to the name Macedonia. According to Greece, Macedonia is the name of a northern Greek province and therefore the former Yugoslav republic should not have the same name. (vb, aba)
Source: IAR, MSZ