Foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia make a new attempt at reconciliation

The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia met in the presence of the UN official on Saturday, trying to smooth their differences on the name of the former Yugoslav Republic before the EU summit next week in Sofia. The conflict that has continued since Skopje declared independence in the early 1990s is a major reason for blocking Macedonian membership in the EU and NATO. Despite the controversy, the two sides decided last year to resume their efforts to find a solution to the dispute, hoping to end before the summer.
The meeting between the three diplomats - Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov, Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias and UN envoy Matthew Nimetz started this weekend in Athens.
"We are in a very delicate phase ... dealing with one of the last remaining differences", said Nikola Dimitrov. In his words, if a breakthrough occurs, a "great relief" could be achieved over a period of about 11 weeks.
The talks come a few days before the summit between EU leaders and the Western Balkans, where the prime ministers of both countries are also expected to discuss the issue.
The hope of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is to reach a solution to the longstanding dispute that will give him more stances to Europe as well as to strengthen home support, where many Greeks perceive the effects of the debt crisis and the three successive rescue programs as an attack on its sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, who came to power about an year ago, wants to speed up his country's membership in NATO and the EU, hoping in this way to boost support for his fragile coalition.
The authorities in Athens refuse to recognize Macedonia under that name, as such an area already exists in Greece. They agree on compromise options, including Upper Macedonia or Northern Macedonia.