Any solution that may emerge from the name row negotiations will be a subject of a referendum, President-elect Gjorge Ivanov said Wednesday, commenting the proposal ‘The Republic of Northern Macedonia’, pointed as acceptable by Greek Ambassador to US Alexandros Mallias at a conference in Washington.

The proposal has been present for 15 years, being favored by Greece and part of the ideas of UN mediator Matthew Niemetz, Ivanov said.

– (This proposal) bears geographic determinant, favored by Athens. We are always ready for compromise, but it must not jeopardize the interests of our state. This compromise, whatever it is going to be, will have to be approved by our citizens. Our Constitution says that the sovereignty derives form the citizens and they are to make decisions on any matter of state interest, such as the name issue, Ivanov told reporters.

“Macedonia’s” representative to the name row negotiations, Zoran Jolevski, has already informed Ivanov in details about the course of the talks, being held under the UN aegis.

After taking the office, I will have regular meetings with Jolevski to be updated and actively participate in the process, Ivanov said.

Referring to the constitution of his Cabinet, the future President said he was working on setting up an efficient team that would reflect “Macedonia’s” reality. In this context Ivanov said that he and the leader of the ruling coalition member party DUI, Ali Ahmeti, discussed two days ago on the possibility for including ethnic Albanian intellectual in the President’s Cabinet.

All parties of smaller ethnic minorities – part of the coalition ‘For Better “Macedonia” – have demonstrated constructiveness at today’s meeting for building a strategy for all issues of state interest – the name, EU, NATO membership – and presented their suggestions in this respect, Ivanov said.

The President-elect intends to also invite representatives of opposition parties to such meeting and if they accept, it may be convened immediately. //04.15.09 MiNa