The U.S. envoy to NATO called on Macedonia and Greece on Wednesday to resume talks and resolve the long-running name dispute between the two countries quickly.
"We should seize the moment, and try to resolve the issue within days or weeks, but not months," news reaching here from Skopje quoted Victoria Nuland as saying after meeting Macedonia's top officials.
Nuland came to Macedonia after NATO leaders failed to invite Macedonia to join the block together with Albania and Croatia at last week summit in Bucharest, Romania.
Greece blocked Macedonia's invitation, arguing that the country's name implies a territorial claim to a northern Greek province also called Macedonia.
Nuland said U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asked her to come to Skopje to talk with Macedonian leaders and see how to resolve the name issue.
She said she held productive talks with President Branko Crvenkovski and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, hoping the talks will contribute to a swift resolution of the issue under the UN auspices.
"I felt a strong commitment and determination to find a solution," said Nuland. "We are here to encourage you."
Crvenkovski said he was ready for future talks on finding a compromise solution to the dispute, which he hoped will enable Macedonia to join NATO and get a date for the EU entry talks.
"However, the solution must not endanger the country's national, language and cultural identity," the President said.
Source:Xinhua
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