Greece's Droutsas Talks Name Issue with Clinton

Droutsas was in Washington for a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

“On the issue of the name of FYROM [Macedonia’s provisional UN reference], Greece's will and desire for a solution is evident, but so are the limits to the concessions that Greece is willing to make,” Droutsas said after the meeting, ANA MPA news agency reported.

Greece has repeatedly insisted that the solution to the disagreement contain a mutually acceptable compound name for Macedonia with a geographic qualifier that would clearly distinguish the state from the northern Greek province that is also called Macedonia.

Athens has also insisted that this name be used by all.

The 18 year-old name gridlock has left Skopje on the doorsteps of NATO and the EU. In December Athens prevented the EU from extending a start date for Macedonia’s accession talks. In 2008, Greece also blocked Macedonia’s NATO entry over the same issue.

Speaking to the press in Skopje yesterday, Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki said that he expected the UN name mediator, Matthew Nimetz, to visit both countries by the end of this month in a fresh round of negotiations aimed at solving the dispute.

For its part, Skopje has said that it would accept a compromise that would not undermine the country's national interests and dignity and that would be used only in contacts with Greece.

So far media have mentioned some version of the name Republic of Northern Macedonia as a possible compromise solution. The government's stance on this option has not been made public.