The long-awaited phone call between the leaders of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) that could settle the name dispute between the two countries could happen on Monday.
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias confirmed that premier Alexis Tsipras is expecting a call from his counterpart in Skopje, Zoran Zaev, to discuss progress in the name dispute negotiations.
Kotzias had earlier met Tsipras in what Greek media say was a meeting to finalize the last details of a possible deal.
Media in FYROM are speculating that Monday is crunch time for a solution that seemed to have lost momentum in the last days.
Makfax news agency says officials from both sides have discussed the remaining issues and “made progress,” with FYROM offering “creative solutions” on the issue of identity and language.
Athens has requested that Skopje deletes all articles in the country’s constitution it deems to be irredentist and accept that a new name will be for all uses, both domestic and international (erga omnes).
According to unconfirmed reports, Zaev is scheduled to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday and present her with a proposal to resolve the decades-old name row.
Last week, Kotzias said he expects the FYROM naming issue to be resolved soon with a new moniker being chosen from ‘New Macedonia’, ‘Upper Macedonia’, or ‘North Macedonia’.