Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki expects new talks on his country's so called "name dispute" with Greece in the first weeks of 2011.

Milososki expects UN envoy Matthew Nimetz to call up new rounds of talks, he said on Wednesday at a meeting of the Macedonian Diplomatic Council, which includes Macedonia's ambassadors abroad, as cited by the Bulgarian National Radio.

The notorious "name dispute" is based on Greek concerns with Macedonia's constitutional name ("Republic of Macedonia") because much of Northern Greece is called "Macedonia" as an administrative district. Therefore, recognizing the same name for its neighbor could legitimize potential territorial claims by Skopje.

Because of the name dispute, Greece has so far vetoed Macedonia's accession to NATO, and blockaded the start of EU accession talks with Macedonia. Because of the Greek position the Republic of Macedonia was admitted to the UN under the made-up name of "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Macedonia)."

The special Macedonian negotiator in the dispute, Zoran Jolevski, has confirmed his readiness for new talks, and the response from the Greek representative in the talks Vasilakis is expected.

Milososki said that 2010 was "solid" for Macedonia in terms of foreign policy. The BNR correspondent points out that no progress whatsoever was made in the name dispute with Greece.

What is more, because of this unresolved dispute, Macedonia did not get a date for accession to NATO, nor did it get a date for starting accession negotiations with the EU even though it has had a candidate status for six years.

The BNR says Macedonia hopes to make progress on the latter issue during the Hungarian EU Presidency in the first half of 2011; it also points out that the Macedonian opposition has been highly critical of the foreign policy of the Gruevski government claiming it has led to the country's international isolation.

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