A meeting in New York between UN mediator in the name dispute Matthew Nimetz and the representatives of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) was a “positive event,” Greek foreign ministry spokesman said on Thursday.
In comments on the Wednesday night meeting, Delavekouras expressed confidence that the process to find a solution to the dispute between Athens and Skopje over FYROM’s name will continue.
He also expressed satisfaction over the recognition given by all sides to Greece’s positive contribution through an initiative for direct talks between the prime ministers of the two countries.
The spokesman said that no decisions had been made at present and repeated that Athens was willing and able to make rapid progress toward a final solution of the problem, urging FYROM’s leadership to make the necessary steps that would allow this.
He also repeated Athens’ readiness to support FYROM’s accession to the EU on condition that a solution to the name dispute was found.
UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters that the purpose of the meeting was to give the parties an opportunity to present – to Nimetz and to each other – the respective positions of their governments regarding the differences between them, the UN News Service reported.
The meeting also sought to ascertain whether there are areas that should be explored further and “to determine the next steps in the process with the overall goal of reaching a speedy resolution to the name issue,” Nesirky said.
Source: Athens News Agency
