BRUSSELS – American lawyer Matthew Nimetz, who’s been trying for two decades to get Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to agree on a mutual name for the Balkan break-off country, said he thinks an answer can be had in intensified talks.Nimetz, who stopped trying three years ago, met with representatives of both countries in the European Union capital city and said there was a “good atmosphere,” diplomatic code which means nothing significant happened in the re-opening of negotiations.He said there will be additional meetings at the UN headquarters in New York from January through March, 2018 in a push to get the two sides to make some progress after Greece 26 years ago gave away the word Macedonia in the FYROM acronym and has been trying to find a way out of that ever since, even though all other suggestions still would let Macedonia be in the title.Greece has objected to the use of the word it gave away because it’s the name of its northern province abutting FYROM, a territory the former Yugoslav Republic covets and has drawn maps showing it also owns Greece’s second-largest city, the port of Thessaloniki.Nimetz  met with Greece’s envoy, Adamantios Vassilakis, and FYROM’s Vasko Naumovski. He said that “a real push for some resolution in the next months” is being made and that the longstanding dispute “can and should be resolved,” said Kathimerini.Nimetz said both countries made the talks “a high priority,” especially the new moderate government in FYROM which replaced a hard-line administration that kept provoking and taunting Greece.He said the current FYROM government “seems determined to try break the deadlock in its relationship with Greece and move forward with its European Union and NATO (induction) program,” both of which Greece has blocked with veto power under a unanimous scheme.Despite all that optimism he threw in the caveat that it’s unlikely “a magical new name” will suddenly appear to appease both sides which could leave the talks and hopes deadlocked as they have been unless, he added, there is “hard work, political will and good diplomacy,” without explaining why there hasn’t been.FYROM Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said officials from Greece and FYROM were working “to reconfirm their will of resuming essential talks … to reach a solution.”Zaev, in power since spring, has vowed to improve relations with Greece, which blocked FYROM from joining NATO in 2008 under the name Macedonia.Read more here.RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism reportSource: thenationalherald.com