The Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs, Nikos Kotzias revealed on the sidelines of the EU Ministers’ Summit the set of proposals on the name dispute the Greek side had presented to the FYROM government in light of his upcoming visit to Skopje. Mr Kotzias said the Greek proposals had been in the hands of the FYROM government for some days now, adding that the best proposal seemed to be “Gorna Makedonija”.

“We have drawn up a text that constitutes the totality of our proposals regarding both the problems that we have with FYROM, as well as a future agenda of cooperation that will profit both sides. I dispatched this agenda to Skopje some days ago”, he said.

The agenda includes five proposals on the name, with “Gorna Makedonija” being the preferred one, as well as inviolable “red lines” of the Greek side and series of reservations on the final stance of the FYROM government.

The Greek Foreign Minister is scheduled to meet with his counterpart, Nikola Dimitrov on Thursday in Skopje, and the results of his meeting are considered crucial in any positive developments of the talks between two countries, and whether a solution can finally be reached on the name dispute. Apart from Mr Dimitrov, the head of Greek diplomacy will also meet with politicians from opposition parties in FYROM. The Prime Minister of FYROM, Zoran Zaev expressed his optimism a solution could be found, provided it was “dignified and respected identity”. Athens is also demanding the redaction of irredentist passages from booms at schools in FYROM.