By RIA Novosti
Athens : Greece will continue talks within the United Nations to resolve the naming dispute over neighboring Macedonia, which shares its name with a northern Greek province, the prime minister said on Monday.
The dispute has been running since Macedonia’s independence from Yugoslavia 17 years ago, with Greece objecting to Skopje using the name Republic of Macedonia. Athens says this implies a territorial claim on Greece’s province of Macedonia, the birthplace of Alexander the Great.
“We know the name issue is complicated… We will continue working within the UN to find a mutually acceptable solution,” Prime Minister Konstandinos Karamanlis said after reporting on the results of last week’s NATO summit to President Karolos Papoulias.
Macedonia had hoped to be invited to join NATO at the three-day Bucharest summit that ended on Friday, but Greece vetoed Macedonia’s bid, demanding that it change its name. At the summit, ex-Yugoslav states Croatia and Albania were invited to join NATO.
Skopje has suggested using the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), a name most Macedonians are unhappy with, but which is used by the UN and other international organizations.
Greece has said it would be satisfied if Skopje renamed itself “New” or “Upper” Macedonia.