Press Conference in Skopje, Macedonia

UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: May I start by saying that I want to thank the Government of Macedonia for the effort they have made to put on the excellent program we have pursued this morning, and thank them for their hospitality. This is a very big day here in Skopje, with Mr. Prodi here, and a very important day for Macedonia. We are able to show by our presence our support for Macedonia’s entry into the EU and NATO. I had the good fortune today to call on the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister, the President, and Mr. Ahmeti and Mr. Xhaferi.

I would also, by way of introduction, like to express my admiration for Ambassador Butler and all of the people here at the U.S. Embassy for doing such a good job representing the United States in your country.

In each one of my meetings, I began by thanking the people and the government of Macedonia for their strong support in the Global War on Terrorism. Macedonian forces operate alongside American forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq. We are grateful for this; it is an extremely important contribution for global security and we will not forget it.

Macedonia over the past few years has been a great inspiration to people in this part of Europe. In 2001, Macedonians chose dialogue over confrontation and chose a Framework Agreement over violence. And we observe today that Macedonia faces a choice between the past and the future. Over the past three years, Macedonians have worked very hard in consolidating their multi-ethnic democracy.

We support the vision of a Macedonia that is part of the EU, part of NATO, part of the European mainstream. Macedonians have faced many challenges over the past three years and there are many challenges yet to face. We talked today with many people about the need for more jobs in Macedonia, the need for economic reform, the need for more investment from outside of Macedonia, including the United States. But each time that Macedonians have walked up to these challenges they have chosen the future over the past. Completion of the FWA and decentralization is a hard task. We believe that that task is one that needs to be completed for Macedonia to follow the vision of multi-ethnicity, democracy, participation in the EU, NATO, economic growth, to be a fully successful society.

We intend to continue to support the people of Macedonia and, in fact, Ambassador Butler has proposed and we have approved a $9.5 million program to support decentralization. We intend to continue to support the people of Macedonia as you move toward full integration with European structures. That is our promise to support your vision. I would be glad to take any questions anybody might have.

QUESTION: Some opposition parties in Macedonia claim that Ambassador Butler does not represent State Department views and U.S. policies.

UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: I think that anyone who says that is completely wrong. Ambassador Butler is the representative of the President of the United States of America to Macedonia. And, as I said in the introduction, we fully support him and his Mission in Macedonia. We are proud of the work he and his people have done here and we look forward to his further efforts.

QUESTION: I am interested on whether you spoke about the referendum with representatives of the government and especially with Mr. Xhaferi. What was the word about?

UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: In each of the meetings that I had today, both with representatives of the government and with Mr. Xhaferi, they raised the question of the referendum with me and they explained the goals of the government in that referendum. I responded that we wanted to be in the position of supporting the completion of the FWA and the completion of decentralization. And that we wanted to be in support of the government’s positive agenda in moving Macedonia forward. So, yes, it came up in every meeting and we put ourselves in the position of supporting a successful Macedonia for the future.

QUESTION: How can the referendum affect Macedonia’s chances for NATO accession in 2006?

UNDER SECRETARY GROSSMAN: Well, again, I think the question of the referendum is one about timing. As Ambassador Butler has said, the question is how quickly do you want to move, and my sense is that Macedonians want to move quickly to NATO and the EU. So the choices that Macedonians make have an impact on time. We hope people will make choices which keep Macedonia on a rapid path to NATO and on the rapid path to Euro-Atlantic institutions. Thank-you very much.