Athens/New York - Greece expressed Wednesday its dissatisfaction with a new proposal in the Macedonia name dispute put forward by the United Nations. Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyianni said the new proposal unveiled to negotiators from Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in New York by UN special mediator Matthew Nimetz "is far from the goals sought by Greece."
Athens made the comments after a new proposal was put forward on Tuesday by Nimetz in an effort to find a solution to the longstanding dispute between Greece and Macedonia over the former Yugoslav republic's name.
The UN proposal is the Republic of Macedonia (Skopje) to distinguish the Balkan country from the northern province of Greece.
The name is to be written in Cyrillic script.
Nimetz said that he had proposed a "logical compromise" during negotiations Tuesday in New York with Greek and Macedonian representatives, but he did not say what name he had suggested, according to a UN spokesman.
Nimetz had recently proposed alternates like New Republic of Macedonia, Upper Macedonia or the Republic of Macedonia (Skopje).
The mediator told reporters the two countries were unable to reach a compromise, but he offered his services for further mediation.
Greece has threatened to veto Macedonia's upcoming bid to join NATO over the use of the name, which it has objected to since Macedonia gained independence in 1991 on the grounds it could imply claims on the northern Greek province of Macedonia and could destabilize the region.
"Greece's position is clear, and I do not need to repeat it. However, I will say it again: If there is no mutually acceptable solution on the name, Greece cannot consent to allied relations with Skopje," Bakoyianni told journalists.
Asked whether the latest proposal had been Nimetz's final proposal, Bakoyianni replied that "there are no final proposals in negotiations."
The name dispute between Greece and its neighbour broke out shortly after Macedonia gained independence. Macedonia is called FYROM at the United Nations, but the United States and more than 100 countries have recognized it as Macedonia.
NATO foreign ministers will hold a summit in Bucharest on April 2- 4 to determine whether to issue invitations to Macedonia, Albania and Croatia.
The United States urged the two sides on Tuesday to resolve their dispute before the NATO summit.
"The time factor is a forcing event and ... they should be coming together to work this out before we get to NATO," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
