Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki reacted after his Greek counterpart Evangelos Venizelos comments on the name issue saying that the Greek position is unacceptable, unreasonable and entirely outside of the bounds of international law. Venizelos, speaking for the Greek media last week, said that Macedonia must accept the Greek concept of erga omnes - using any name the two countries agree upon in all circumstances, including domestically in the Republic of Macedonia.

- This is a type of statement that can't leave the decision makers in NATO and EU member countries indifferent. I believe that this statement will not go down well in many capitals, not only in Macedonia. I can simply qualify his position as unacceptable, unreasonable and entire out of the bounds of basic respect for international law, Poposki said during a discussion on the Euro-Atlantic perspectives for Macedonia that was held on Tuesday. Venizelos' comments came after yet another round of talks in the UN building in New York ended without a break-through, with negotiator Matthew Nimetz saying that he hasn't made a new proposal to solve the two decades long issue that has stalled Macedonian NATO and EU integration.

Macedonia's Foreign Minister added that Greece is showing force, from its position of being "inside the club" of EU and NATO, and uses this to act in ways that are contrary to international law. Poposki added that it is deeply disturbing for a country that claims to have given birth to democracy to impose standards on other countries, and even presume it can decide about the Constitution and the name of a different country.

Venizelos, in his comments, tried to share the blame Greece has for blocking Macedonian EU integration, and say that other EU members, like Bulgaria, also have historic issues with Macedonia. Poposki said that it is another clear signal that Greek political leadership has other priorities and doesn't want to solve the name issue, so they are being evasive and try to look for excuses other than their own uncompromising position.

- None of their arguments hold any water because, regarding NATO, in 2008 the Alliance found that Macedonia fully meets all criteria for membership, except one, and that is the Greek-imposed name issue. On our European Union road, since 2009 we have received six positive recommendations in a row that we meet all necessary conditions to begin negotiations. So the clearest way to explain his comments is to say that he is muddying up the waters and trying to avoid responsibility for the fact that Greece has no desire to overcome this issue which they themselves imposed on us, Poposki added.

On the Macedonian side, Poposki said, the position is clear and we are willing to maintain an intensive dialogue that would lead to a solution, "but there is a different political reality in Athens". Poposki said that the fact that Greece is currently unprepared to seriously commit to solve the issue doesn't mean that Macedonia will stop working on removing this obstacle. Poposki acknowledged that Macedonia is suffering consequences from the continued Greek blockade, and added that Athens is well aware of this and it is part of the Greek strategy. Poposki, in his comments to the press, again addressed the fact that the Greek demand is to have a name used in all purposes, even domestically, while the UN Security Council resolutions only talk about a name that will be used in international forums.

- We are talking about an issue in which there is an unprincipled request from one side, while we insist on a solution that is within the frames defined by international law. Macedonia is not the one that should bid with solutions that are outside of the frames of the international law. Macedonia only wants to overcome the issue within the frames set by the UN Security Council resolutions and the 1995 Interim Accord. Respect for them is a condition that one of the sides is not meeting at the moment, Poposki said. Macedonia sued Greece over the 2008 veto for NATO membership, and in 2011 the International Court of Justice found that the Greek veto violated the 1995 Interim Accord, in which Greece vowed not to obstruct Macedonia's acceptance into organizations it is a member of, if the temporary reference "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" is used.

Asked by the press if there is an initiative from German Chancellor Angela Merkel to resolve the name issue, Poposki answered that he would not speak for other countries, but that there is a clear understanding in all Alliance countries that the blockade of Macedonia, and the Greek lack of will to overcome the issue do not contribute to the wider goal - to have a united, stable and prosperous Balkans. Chancellor Merkel recently called a meeting of Balkan leaders in which she announced that Germany will offer support for faster integration of the region and overcoming the issues of the past.

Srgjan Kerim, who served as President of the UN General Assembly, as well as Macedonian Foreign Minister and Ambassador to Germany, said that Macedonia should be allowed to negotiate its EU membership while it is negotiating a solution to the name issue with Greece.

- We should ask for greater involvement from the United States, Germany and France. Germany herself offered to be involved, through the statement made by Chancellor Merkel who said she is personally interested to see this issue resolved. I believe that our activities should be aimed at informing these countries that they too bear responsibility for what is happening, because we are faced with conclusions that are jointly made at the EU and NATO level, and directly affect this obstacle laid before Macedonia. In order to overcome these EU and NATO conclusions it is not enough that there is an agreement between Macedonia and Greece, but countries like the United States, Germany and France, and other influential members of these two international organizations, should influence the Greek side to come to the discussions and work for a solution, Kerim said.

At the meeting in New York last week, Macedonia again offered to Greece to hold high level talks, between the Prime Ministers, or the Presidents, that would help solve the name issue. Greece hasn't responded to this offer for years.