Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said on Monday that direct negotiations can make a step further in overcoming the name dispute between Macedonia and Greece.
U.N. special envoy Matthew Nimetz announced last week that new meetings between the two countries' negotiators are set to take place early next year in the two countries' capitals, with the first in Skopje and the second one in Athens shortly after.
"We are neighbors. No matter how serious the problem is, it is good to have a dialogue, and it shouldn't be done through the media and EU and NATO institutions," news reaching here from Skopje quoted him as saying.
"It is good to talk, to listen to each other, our problems, positions, and our viewpoints on the matter. Only by negotiating can we go ahead," stated Gruevski.
The name dispute between Macedonia and Greece broke out shortly after Macedonia gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Greece has said the country's name, the Republic of Macedonia, implies a territorial claim over the northern Greek province of Macedonia and could destabilize the region.
Instead, it asks Macedonia to use the name of "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" or FYROM, in short, under which the country joined the United Nations in 1993. Otherwise Greece would block Macedonia's NATO and EU aspirations.
Source: Xinhua
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