Next round of Macedonia-Greece name talks scheduled on Jan. 17

SKOPJE, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Macedonia and Greece name issue mediators Vasko Naumovski and Ademantios Vassilakis are scheduled to resume talks on Jan. 17, Macedonia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

According to the ministry, the talks will take place in New York in the presence of United Nations mediator Matthew Nimetz.

The last round of UN-mediated talks with the countries' representatives was held mid-December last year in Brussels after a three-year stalemate.

Senior representatives of both countries recently said that talks were being held in a period of intensified activity and a climate of optimism to try and settle the long-standing name row.

Last week, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev told media here that he was hopeful the name issue would be solved in the first half of 2018. Enditem