Athens: Too Early to Comment on Name Meeting

He only confirmed that a meeting took place between Macedonian and Greek negotiators in the presence of UN mediator Matthew Nimetz to examine the current status of the talks.

Delavekouras reiterated Greece's stance that a name with geographical qualification used for all purposes would be acceptable, adding that the proposal "Republic of Northern Macedonia" fulfilled the demands of Greece if it is used for all purposes.

According to him, Athens is prepared to seek a swift solution if there is political will from the other party. The spokesman reaffirmed that a name row settlement was a condition for Macedonia's EU and NATO integration and that " [Macedonian] Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski holds the fate of his country and its Euro-Atlantic future in his hands".

He further accused Macedonia of trying to abuse its forthcoming position as chairman of the Council of Europe in order to promote its positions regarding the name dispute. Skopje announced it will run its six month chairmanship, which starts in May, under the title: “Macedonian Chairmanship 2010”.

After yesterday's meeting Nimetz briefed UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about the course of the negotiations on settling the Skopje-Athens row.

The United Nations will not urge Macedonia and Greece to settle the name dispute by this June, UN Secretary General spokesman Martin Nesirky told the Deutsche Welle Macedonian language program.

“Reaching an agreement is most important for us - one that will be the result of compromise and acceptable for the two parties,” Nesirky was cited as saying.

According to UN reports, Ban Ki-moon has been receiving regular briefings on the name negotiations.

Nesirky didn't say if the proposal “Republic of Northern Macedonia” was mentioned in the UN Secretary General Office. He also had no comment about the possibility that Macedonia may call a referendum if Nimetz presents a proposal.