Skopje, Athens PMs Talk on Phone

Gruevski told his Greek counterpart that he would not attend a conference organised by the British magazine 'The Economist', set to be held in Athens on May 28-30, for which Papandreou expressed his full understanding, the government press release reads.

However the statement does not note the reason why the Macedonian prime minister has decided to stay at home. Observers had seen the conference as a good opportunity for further direct talks with Athens on the bilateral “name” issue that has been troubling relations between the two countries for years.

For his part Gruevski expressed his readiness for the “name” row to be settled as soon as possible and he said he is ready to meet Papandreou in person to again discuss this issue.

Ever since Papandreou come to power in Greece last autumn, the two prime ministers have held more direct meetings than leaders before them. However, their parleys have generally been seen a courtesy, with no substantial discussion of the name issue seen during the tete-a-tetes.

Athens and Skopje are locked in a 19 year long spat over the use of the name Macedonia. Athens insists that Skopje’s official name, Republic of Macedonia, implies territorial claims against its own northern province, also called Macedonia.

In 2008 Athens blocked Skopje’s NATO accession over the name issue. In December Skopje did not get a date for the start of its EU accession talks due to the unresolved issue.

July, which marks the end of the Spanish EU presidency, is seen as an informal deadline for solving the dispute, but some local observers think this is too optimistic.

The UN, which hosts the bilateral name negotiations, recently announced they are working on a fresh Athens-Skopje meeting soon. Local media expect the meeting to take place in May.