UNIS/SG/A/107
24 December 1999

Secretary-General Appoints New Personal Envoy for Talks Between Greece, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

NEW YORK, 23 December (UN Headquarters) – The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General has accepted the resignation of Cyrus Vance, his Personal Envoy for the Greece-FYROM talks. Mr. Vance resigned for personal reasons.

The Secretary-General wishes to pay tribute to Mr. Vance, a great statesman, for his untiring efforts and invaluable service to the United Nations. He will miss his wise counsel.

Following Mr. Vance’s resignation, the Secretary-General today appointed Matthew Nimetz of the United States as his Personal Envoy for the Greece-FYROM talks. Mr. Nimetz has been involved in this process since March 1994 and has acted as deputy to the Personal Envoy and chaired the talks between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia since November 1997.

The appointment takes effect 21 December 1999.

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