Greece, Macedonia hold new talks in Vienna on name dispute

VIENNA – The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia have held a meeting in Vienna under a United Nations-mediated effort to resolve a long-running dispute over Macedonia’s name.

U.N. mediator Matthew Nimetz said after Wednesday’s meeting that the talks between Greece’s Nikos Kotzias and Macedonia’s Nikola Dimitrov had been intense but very cordial. The ministers made no comments.

Nimetz said both sides are “very dedicated” to solving the issue, adding that negotiations will continue “in the next weeks.”

The two countries have been at odds over Macedonia’s name since the early 1990s. Greece argues that use of the name by its neighbour implies territorial claims on its own adjoining northern province.

The dispute has frustrated Macedonia’s hopes of joining NATO and the European Union. Greece is a member of both organizations.