Once seen as Moscow’s most loyal satellite state, Bulgaria today is a struggling democracy wrestling with the staple problems of a struggling economy and the development of democratic institutions. A visit last month by The Athenian’s diplomatic correspondent reveals neither a bastion of anti-Geek feelings nor a hotbed of pro-Turkish Moslem fundamentalism, as often suspected in Athens. In fact, quite the contrary…
Even if Greek objections fail at the UN and other international forums, the feud between Athens and Skopje is likely to continue for a very long time. After a possible toughening of the Greek stand, it can only be settled on a bilateral level.
The collapse of the Iron Curtain and the break-up of the Yugoslav Federation has dramatically drawn Greece back into Balkan affairs.
The author of this article toured Greece’s neighboring former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, as well as Greece’s northern frontier regions. After extensive interviews with the Republic’s political leaders and other influential personalities, he came to the conclusion that the two countries are characterized by mutual suspicion, intransigence and unwillingness to compromise. He also concludes that for the time being there is no hope of a breakthrough on the dispute over the neighboring Republic’s use of the name ‘Macedonia’.
The Athenian’s political-diplomatic correspondent travelled twice to the neighboring former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia within a month. This second time, his meetings included exclusive interviews with President Kiro Gligorov, President of Parliament Stojan Andov, Foreign Undersecretary Aleksandr Dimitrov, and the local Albanian leadership.
As the rumblings grow louder and closer to the surface, developments indicate that the government is not even willing to accept a diluted version of a name for Skopje like ‘New Macedonia’, a formula being backed by most Western powers.
