Athens-Skopje Meet at 'Critical Moment'

Philip Reeker noted that the two officials can provide assistance at this “critical moment” in moving forward the UN-sponsored negotiations aimed at finding a compromise.

"Now is the right time to find a solution to the problem through UN mediation," said Reeker.

This will be the third direct meeting of the two prime ministers, following one in Brussels on October 29 and one in Prespes, Greece on November 27, neither of which resulted in significant progress.

"The name row is a serious, difficult issue,” Gruevski said on Sunday. “It would be best not to make any forecasts [about the meeting]. We'll see how things go,” he added.

Athens and Skopje are locked in a nearly two decade long spat over the use of the name Macedonia. Greece, which is a long standing member of the EU and NATO, conditions Skopje’s entry into these organisations on a change to its neighbour's official name, Republic of Macedonia.
 
Athens claims that this name implies Skopje’s territorial claims on Greece’s own northern province, which is also called Macedonia.

Skopje, for its part, fears that changing its name could threaten the country's identity.

The UN mediator in the bilateral dispute, Matthew Nimetz, visited both countries last month to revive the negotiations process. He is expected to announce his next move shortly.

In the absence of official details about the content of the talks, media speculate that some form of the name “Northern Macedonia” is still on the table. Greek Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas recently said that the name “Republic of Northern Macedonia” might be acceptable for Athens.