Tsipras, Zaev hold phone call ‘in good climate’

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his counterpart Zoran Zaev of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on Monday held a telephone conversation, according to local media reports.

The call, which according to government sources started at 3 p.m. and lasted for about one hour, was held “in a good climate,” reports said.

No more details were immediately available. A new call between the two leaders is expected to take place on Tuesday.

Earlier on Monday, Zaev said he hoped a solution to the outstanding name dispute between the two Balkan neighbors could be reached before a June 28-29 meeting of EU leaders in Brussels.

Greece has long opposed FYROM’s right to call itself “Macedonia,” saying it amounts to a territorial claim on a northern Greek region of the same name. The dispute has blocked FYROM's bid to join NATO and the European Union.

ANEL press conference

Meanwhile, Defense Minister and Independent Greeks (ANEL) leader Panos Kammenos will hold an unscheduled press briefing on Tuesday at 11 a.m., his party said in a statement.

ANEL has said it will not back a name in Parliament that contains the word “Macedonia.”