An American lawmaker said on Monday that Macedonia had made progress on its way to join NATO, reiterating that the United States would help it achieve its aspirations.
"Macedonia represents a factor of stability and democracy in this region," said David Price, chairman of U.S. House of Representatives Democracy Assistance Commission.
Price, who heads a visiting U.S. Congress delegation to Macedonia, said that Europe would not have true stability and universal democracy until Balkan conflicts are resolved.
He expressed his hope that the name dispute between Macedonia and its southern neighbor Greece will not stand in the way of its NATO accession, and that a friendly solution will be found out to the issue.
Macedonia and Greece is being engaged in talks on Monday in Vienna over the name dispute which broke out shortly between Macedonia and Greece after Macedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991.
Greece has said the country's name, the Republic of Macedonia, implies a territorial claim over the northern Greek province of Macedonia and could destabilize the region.
Instead, it asks Macedonia to use the name of "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" or FYROM, in short, under which the country joined the United Nations in 1993.
Greece has threatened to use its NATO-member status to veto Macedonia's accession efforts at the NATO's April 2-4 summit in Bucharest, Romania, if there is no agreement on the name issue by then.
Source:Xinhua
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