UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Greece's foreign minister told the United Nations Saturday it seeks a "fair compromise" in its name dispute with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
"Greece believes and has repeatedly stated that the solution lies in a fair compromise, in a name with a geographical qualifier, since Macedonia is a geographic region that overlaps the territory of more than one country," Stavros Lambrinidis told the U.N. General Assembly in New York. "And that this name must be used in relation to everyone."
A 1995 agreement outlined the points separating the two countries on the name issue and called for negotiations with U.N. oversight to resolve them.
"We want to resolve this issue so that we can finally realize the huge potential of our relationship, on the basis of openness and honesty," Lambrinidis said. "It is high time to reach a successful and mutually beneficial conclusion."
The Greek foreign minister also expressed concern about what he called Turkey's "threats and hostile actions" against Cyprus "in violation of international law," a United Nations release said.
"Turkey's threats and actions of the past few days and weeks are contrary to international law, and they must cease," he said. "We believe that the path of tension is a wrong and dangerous path."
