Nov 4, 2009, 15:12 GMT
Athens - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that his special envoy was prepared to launch new talks in an effort to resolve an 18-year name dispute between Greece and its northern neighbor, provisionally called Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
'My special envoy, Matthew Nimetz, hopes to keep up the momentum for development on the main issue between Greece and FYROM and is set to restart the process of negotiations when the parties are ready,' Ban said.
The United Nations formally refers to the country as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), while Skopje prefers the name Republic of Macedonia.
The secretary-general, on an official visit to Athens, said, 'Greece is ready and will fully support and facilitate this effort.'
Greece and its northern neighbour have been at loggerheads over the right to the name of 'Macedonia' since 1991, when Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia.
Athens claims the name dispute implies territorial claims on its own northern province of Macedonia, where Alexander the Great was born.
UN-led negotiations on the issue have proved fruitless and Greece used its veto to block Macedonia from becoming a member of NATO.
The name issue has also slowed Skopje's integration into the European Union.
Skopje was granted EU candidate status in 2005, but Athens has threatened to veto the beginning of the talks if a solution is not found to the name issue.
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