SARKOZY: REDOUBLE THE EFFORT
National.
France pledges strong support to Macedonia's NATO and EU membership and calls on the country to redouble its efforts to reach a solution to name dispute with Greece.
This is the keynote of the letter sent by French President Nicholas Sarkozy to Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski, in which Sarkozy reaffirms a full support to Macedonia's NATO membership. He stressed that Macedonia is fully qualified to join NATO, but it should resolve the name dispute with Greece beforehand.
Sarkozy called for timely settlement of the name dispute to remove the obstacle to legitimate aspirations of Macedonian citizens to join the European Union and NATO. He fully supports the UN mediator Matthew Nimetz's efforts to facilitate a mutually acceptable solution.
"I call on the authorities in Skopje, same as I called on the authorities in Athens during my visit to Athens on June 6, to redouble the efforts to ensure that the negotiations are wrapped up," Sarkozy said in the letter.
Despite the election violence, French president believes that the country has the democratic capacity and the needed legitimacy to continue the reforms towards Europe.
France, both at national level and as holder of EU presidency, will continue to support the country on its road to successful integration into the European Union, the letter says.
[Makfax]
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