Greece-Macedonia name row edging towards solution, says Merkel

Reuters

Published Feb 21, 2018 08:02AM ET

Greece-Macedonia name row edging towards solution, says Merkel

BERLIN (Reuters) - Macedonia is closer than any time in the last decade to settling a long-standing dispute over its name with Greece which has thwarted Skopje's ambitions to join NATO and the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.

"I am very pleased and relieved that .. there is movement in the talks," Merkel told reporters at a joint news conference with Macedonian Premier Zoran Zaev.

"In the last ten years, the solution has not been as close as now and it would be wonderful if the remaining difficulties can be bridged," she said.