The talks held yesterday in Brussels between Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and her Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) counterpart Antonio Milososki, attended by US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried, have highlighted the difficulties currently faced by the three countries.

Greece, after failing to persuade its small neighbor to change its name in the previous round of UN-mediated talks, now accepts the direct involvement of Washington, which, however, had recognized the country by the name «Republic of Macedonia» back in 2005, thus depriving its ally Greece of important diplomatic support.

Now that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's entry to NATO hangs in the balance, with the possibility of a veto from Greece, the United States has again stepped in and offered its services, mostly in aid of FYROM, and Greece is being dragged into the process as if it were at the bottom of the «league table» of Balkan countries.