UN Urges Greece, Republic of Macedonia to Resolve Name Issue Soon
- UN envoy Matthew Nimetz says solution is possible within weeks
- Greece says it will present draft name deal in February
Matthew Nimetz and Nikola Dimitrov shake hands during their meeting in Skopje on Feb. 1.
Photographer: Robert Atanasovski/AFP/Getty Images
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The United Nations urged Greece and its neighbor, the Republic of Macedonia, to resolve a 27-year-old dispute that’s blocked the former Yugoslav state’s efforts to join the European Union and NATO for a decade.
The two governments showed “good will” to find compromise on Macedonia’s official label -- which Greece believes to be a territorial claim on its northern province of the same name, UN envoy Matthew Nimetz said Thursday in Skopje after meeting government officials from both countries this week. A solution is possible within weeks, he said.