Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis and President of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Branko Crvenkovski are due to meet in New York this week as the two sides significantly step up their efforts to solve the name dispute.

In a significant development, Bako-yannis held a surprise meeting with her FYROM counterpart Antonio Milososki in Paris on Friday. Although there were no major developments during the meeting, the fact that the talks between the two countries had been upgraded to taking place at the level of foreign minister rather than that of ambassadors indicates that there is a drive to resolve the matter.

Bakoyannis insisted that her first meeting with Milososki did not mean that Athens and Skopje would be bypassing the United Nations and its mediator Matthew Nimetz. “Let me be clear – the process that is taking place under the auspices of the UN is not being replaced,” she said.

Bakoyannis repeated Greece’s position that it wants FYROM to adopt a single name with a geographical qualifier. Milososki was also adamant that Skopje would not budge from its position. “As everybody knows, the name issue can be solved easily,” he said. “This discussion remains open for the benefit of both countries.”

Sources said that the meeting was conducted in a good climate and that Milososki adopted more moderate positions than his prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, and closer to those of Crvenkovski.

Milososki did not raise the issue of a “Macedonian minority” living in Greece during the talks. After the meeting, however, he did make reference to a “Macedonian language.”

Friday’s talks, as well as the ones due this week on the sidelines of a meeting of the UN General Assembly, have been prompted by pressure from the USA, according to sources.

Washington is keen to see the issue settled as soon as possible. It is thought that should the two sides not make progress, the USA may encourage Skopje to call for a vote in the General Assembly, which would put an end to the interim agreement between the two countries and cut the UN out of the negotiations process.