SKOPJE, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- The government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is committed to building confidence with Greece in order to achieve a dignified settlement of the open issues between the two countries, cabinet officials said on Monday.
Referring to the massive protest held in the neighboring country's capital Athens, MIA cited officials saying that FYROM government believed that the majority of citizens in both Greece and FYROM wished for good-neighborly relations, which lead to friendship, stability and economic prosperity of the entire region.
According to the cabinet, FYROM's government supports positions of advancing the cooperation between the two countries.
Earlier, while talking to reporters here, FYROM's Deputy Premier for European Affairs Bujar Osmani called the peaceful and non-violent protests in Athens as part of the public debate and a guaranteed right in a democracy.
However, he noted that such protests should have no influence over the name dispute resolution process.
"We have never thought this was an easy problem. What is important is that our governments are determined to find a solution. They should remain calm and persevere until a solution is reached, regardless of the obstacles along the way. The time has come to make right decisions, instead of easy ones," Osmani said.
Further, he highlighted that the name row resolution process should continue according to the agreed agenda.
NAME ISSUE: OBSTACLE FOR FYROM'S EU ACCESSION
To FYROM, the solving of name issue with Greece is very important as it is considered the main obstacle that FYROM should overcome in order to start negotiations talks for European Union accession and NATO accession as well.
Now that two governments are discussing ways of solving this issue in UN mediated meetings, the citizens have different stands. While in FYROM many citizens refute the idea of changing name, many people in Greece don't want the neighboring country to keep this name.
Such situation has existed since 1992, one year after FYROM declared independence from Yugoslavia and chose the name "Macedonia", which is also the name of a northern Greek province.
Athens worries that the use of the same name by the neighboring state could lead to territorial claims.
A mass demonstration was held on Sunday in front of the Greek parliament to protest against the use of the term "Macedonia" in any resolution of the name row with FYROM.
According to the organizers, local cultural clubs, over 1 million protestors joined the rally at the Syntagma square and nearby avenues, while Greek police, however, estimated that about 140,000 people participated in the demonstration.
