Greece, FYROM name dispute talks narrow, intensify, says UN envoy

Talks to resolve a decades-old dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) over the latter’s name have narrowed, and ministers will continue negotiations in Brussels, United Nations envoy Matthew Nimetz said on Friday.

The two countries have recently renewed efforts to solve the long-running dispute, which has frustrated FYROM’s hopes of joining the European Union and NATO, and are scrambling to reach a deal before an EU summit in June.

Nimetz met with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his FYROM counterpart, Nikola Dimitrov, in New York over the past day and a half.

“The issues are well defined, the issues have been narrowed. We still don’t have a final resolution of the issues, but both sides are determined to do enough to try to reach an agreement and are working very hard to do that,” Nimetz told reporters.

He said the two ministers would now travel to Brussels and continue talks there. “These talks have been intensified considerably,” he said.