Brussels - EU foreign ministers yesterday welcomed Macedonia's government of national unity, while condemning "new acts of terrorist violence" that it said were meant to provoke all-out war in the Balkan state. In a statement issued during their regular monthly meeting in Brussels, the foreign ministers expressed hope that the new government in Skopje "will achieve concrete and substantial results as soon as possible."
Greece said yesterday the time had come to resolve a the long-running dispute over the name of its northern neighbour. Greece has opposed the use of the name "Macedonia" as it is also the name of its northern province bordering the small Balkan nation.
Athens had said the name also implies territorial aspirations. It imposed a year-long trade embargo in 1994 but lifted it after US mediation led to the temporary name of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Media reports, which were unconfirmed by the Greek Foreign Ministry yesterday, suggested that the two sides were close to agreeing on the name Gornamakedonia, or Upper Macedonia.