Poll: Macedonians Split on End to Name Talks

51 per cent of the respondents said the talks that have been lingering fruitlessly for a decade and a half should be abandoned, the latest poll conducted by daily Dnevnik has shown.

48 per cent of respondents said they would proceed with the negotiations while only one per cent was undecided.

The percentage of those who would abandon talks among the ethnic Macedonian majority is even greater, standing at 63 per cent.

The daily unveils that their poll, conducted on a representative sample of the population, showed that  willingness to compromise is higher among younger citizens.

The poll, which will be presented in its entirety on Wednesday, shows that the majority of people approved the policy of the centre right VMRO DPMNE led government on the name issue.

Macedonia and Greece have been locked in a name dispute for almost two decades. Greece insists that the country's constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia, implies territorial claims against its own northern province also called Macedonia.

In 2008 the name row eascalated when Athens blocked Skopje’s invitation to join NATO pending a solution. Last year in DecemberGreece used its right to effectively prevent the European Union from extending a start date for Macedonia’s accession talks.

Under the UN interim agreement from 1995 signed between the two countries, Skopje and Athens are obliged to stay at the negotiating table.