Representatives at the United Nations from Greece and Macedonia will meet in New York Friday to continue negotiations to solve the Macedonia name dispute, according to dpa. Scheduled talks between UN envoy Matthew Nimetz and diplomats from Athens and Skopje constitute a "window of opportunity" to solve the long-running dispute that could jeopardise Macedonia from joining NATO next month. Greece is threatening to veto Macedonia's effort to join the military alliance unless a solution is reached. The name dispute between Greece and its neighbour broke out shortly after the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) gained independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Macedonia is called FYROM at the United Nations but the United States and more than 100 countries have recognised it as Macedonia. Greece has objected to the name, arguing that it could imply claims on the northern Greek province of Macedonia and could destabilise the region. Earlier this month, Nimetz presented both countries with five alternate names which according to a Greek newspaper are: Constitutional Republic of Macedonia, Democratic Republic of Macedonia, Independent Republic of Macedonia, New Republic of Macedonia and Republic of Upper Macedonia. NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is scheduled to visit Athens on Monday to discuss the dispute and pursuade Athens from vetoing FYROM's bid to join NATO in the event that a solution is not found. "No solution means no invitation," Greek Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Giorgos Koumoutsakos told journalists. "Accession requires the approval from all members of NATO. There is no doubt that Greece will not relinquish any of the its membership rights." NATO foreign ministers will meet on March 6 in Brussels for their final discussion on membership aspirations of Macedonia, Albania and Croatia ahead of a summit in Bucharest April 2-4 that will determine whether to issue invitations.
