Skopje: UN 'Name' Mediator Arrives February 23

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nimetz has accepted the date proposed by the Macedonian government, and confirmed his arrival in Skopje.

The ministry said it hoped the Greek side would also arrange Nimetz's visit to Athens before long.

The two neighboring countries are locked in an 18 year long row over the use of the name Macedonia. Athens insists that Skopje’s formal name, Republic of Macedonia, implies territorial claims against its own northern province with the same name.

Due to the unresolved spat, Athens in December prevented Skopje from getting the desired date for start of its European Union accession talks, thus effectively blocking its EU integration.

In 2008 Athens, which is also a member of NATO, prevented Skopje from entering the organisation over the same dispute.

Nimetz is expected to launch a fresh round of talks between the two countries. His visits last autumn did not result in any visible movement toward reaching a solution.

Although there are were no official details on the talks held in the fall, local media in both countries reported that some variant of the compound name “Republic of Northern Macedonia” might be acceptable to both sides, and this possibility appears to still be on the table.