The U.S. Obama Administration is "working very hard behind the scenes" to resolve the standoff between Macedonia and Greece, including the President himself involved in "discussions with key counterparts," Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Special Assistant to the U.S. President spoke to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington.

- We have worked very hard behind the scenes to achieve a resolution to the standoff over the Macedonian name issue. One of the things that the president has mused about is the many things you need to know about as President - and one of those is the Macedonian name issue. He, himself, has been involved in discussions with key counterparts on this issue, and unfortunately [it] has not been resolved in time for the NATO Summit in Chicago, but we continue to hope that this will be resolved, so that Macedonia can take its place as a NATO member, Sherwood-Randall answered the question asked by the representative of the United Macedonian Diaspora (UMD).

Dr. Sherwood-Randall is the Senior Director for Europe and a member of the National Security Council.