Greece puts five names at the negotiating table with Macedonia

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kodias will arrive in Skopje on Thursday to submit to Macedonia a document containing a detailed proposal from Athens to settle the decades-old name dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). This document "addresses all open issues with FYROM, as well as a future cooperation program that will bring benefits to both sides," Greek Ekathimerini writes, quoting Codias.

"I sent this program to Skopje a few days ago," the minister said. 

There are already five names on the table to talk about. Greece's proposals include the Republic of New Macedonia, the Republic of Northern Macedonia, the Republic of Upper Macedonia, the Republic of Vardar Macedonia and the Republic of Macedonia (Skopje).

The ruling coalition in Greece, however, is not united with the name of Macedonia. While the senior partner SYRIZA of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is inclined to the above suggestions, the smaller partner ANEL ("Independent Greeks") is very much against the name "Macedonia" at all. Party leader and defense minister Panos Kamenos has repeatedly stated that he will not accept the word to be present in the name of the northern neighbor of Greece, nor will he give up the request for a change in the Constitution of Macedonia.

In late February in an interview with Reuters, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said his government is inclined to add Macedonia to some geographic concept such as Northern, Upper, Vardar, or Skopje. "The proposals are the Republic of Northern Macedonia, the Republic of Upper Macedonia, the Republic of Vardar Macedonia and the Republic of Macedonia (Skopje)," Zaev said.