U.N. to mediate Macedonia name dispute

ATHENS, Greece, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- A United Nations mediator invited diplomats from Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to New York to address the Macedonia name dispute.

U.N. Special Envoy Matthew Nimetz proposed he meet Friday with officials from Athens and Skopje over the dispute that began in 1946 when the People's Republic of Macedonia was established as part of the newly proclaimed Yugoslavia and escalated when Macedonia seceded in September 1991.

Nimetz reportedly plans to keep the diplomats in separate rooms and move between meetings, Greece's Ekathimerini news service said.

U.N. sources said no public statements would be made in order to avoid misinterpretations during the early stages of renewed talks, the report said.

Skopje has been demanding a formal name of Independent Republic of Macedonia, while Athens wants to call the disputed country the Republic of Upper Macedonia to clearly distinguish it from its own region of Macedonia, the report said.