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Zaev hopes to find a solution for the name with Greece

The Prime Minister of Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, said last night that he hopes that Skopje and Athens can soon find a solution to the decades-long dispute over the name issue.

Greece argues that the name Macedonia implies territorial claims to a Greek region with the same name, and because of this issue, has blocked Macedonia's efforts to join NATO and the European Union.

"On November 20 and 21, the first meeting with the United Nations envoy, Matthew Nimitz, will take place, and I hope that we will find a solution and not delay it," Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said last night in Ljubljana, after the meeting with the prime minister of Slovenia, Miro Cerar, reports the Reuters agency.

Prime Minister Zaev said that he hopes that talks on accession to the European Union will begin next year.

The meeting with the Greek side in November will be the first since Zoran Zaev is the Prime Minister of Macedonia.