Nimetz prepares ground for solution
United Nations mediator Matthew Nimetz has begun a new round of talks with representatives of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Greece as he seeks to prepare the ground for another bid at solving the name dispute between the two countries. Nimetz met yesterday with FYROM’s negotiator Nikola Dimitrov and is due to meet with Greek diplomat Adamantios Vassilakis on Friday. Greek diplomatic sources said Athens does not expect the talks to result in Nimetz immediately putting forward a new name proposal. Athens believes the UN mediator will use this round of talks as an opportunity to draw up a «road map» to act as a guide for negotiations over the next few weeks. As parliamentary elections are due to be held in the neighboring country on June 1, Nimetz is not expecting any major breakthrough before then. But he is preparing the ground so that the pace of negotiations can pick up once a new government is voted in. Skopje said yesterday that it will lodge a complaint against Athens after a Macedonian Air Transport plane was allegedly refused permission to fly over Greece while on its way to Egypt on Monday.
