This conflict is indeed a difficult one - long-time, deep-seated mindsets and attitudes, fears of greed for territory, etc - that must be handled delicately. I believe the right solution will be unanimously accepted. As a non-citizen of either country, I respect the beliefs and feelings of each. Both areas have had the name Macedonia for ages. There was at some point a political line arbitrarily drawn that separated one cultural entity into two parts. That particular kind of action always has ramifications that echo down the centuries, and too often those are factionalism and strife. I would like to offer a suggestion that might be mutually acceptible. There is a country that calls itself nowadays Republic of Macedonia. Greece has a district or ethnic/cultural area (or whatever they call the larger subdivisions of their country) called Macedonia. The people of the Republic of Macedonian speak a language called Macedonian, identifying themselves with that political entity, and the people of the Greek area of Macedonia most likely speak Greek, thereby identifying themselves with that political entity. My proposal is the the official names be "Republic of Macedonia" and "____________ of Macedonia", Greece. Each country would agree that similar names would in no way constitute a claim over the other's land of the same name (from what I've read, Greece has expressed the fear that the R. of Macedonia might claim some or all of the territory that is the ___ of Macedonia, which leads me to wonder if the R. of Macedonia hasn't expressed the same fear, and if not, why not). I grant that I am not a trained or professional arbitrator or diplomat, but a person who has a deep interest in conflict-resolution. I wish the very best to Macedonia and Greece as they continue to work their way toward a solution. Likewise, I wish the same for all areas of our Earth where disputes disrupt the peace and serenity of everyday life.

A nice sentiment but unfortunately your naivete has shown through. Hellas objects to the use of the name 'Macedonia' because with it come the assertions that the Slavs who inhabit the region ate descendants of the Ancient Macedonians who themselves were a Hellenic people descended from the Dorian branch of Hellenism and spoke a dialect of north-western Hellenic not too far removed from Aeolian or Acarnanian. It is not only about irridentism- countless maps and propaganda materials have been produced by FYROM to claim this, most recently giving awards to people spreading their lies under the name of "Perseus Awards" or something to that effect-Perseus being the son of Zeus-which everybody with a functioning brainstem knows was a Hellenic god. It is almost as laughable as the fact their territorial claims encompass Mount OIympus which is synonymous with Hellas and the classical Hellenic Gods-are they trying to insinuate that these were non-Hellenic because if so that is beyond the pale of idiocy. The whole issue is about the usurpation of Hellenic history, historical figures and contributions to history; there are greater implications for granting these people a name that they have had otherwise practically nothing to do with save for stumbling into the wider area a thousand years after the death of Alexander the Great. One argument I often find that is people claim that it is possible to have an ROM and a wider region of Macedonia and that is like having cities sharing the same name yet I am positive Athens, Georgia in the US and Athens, Hellas are about related as chalk and cheese-likewise that there is a distinction between the two much like North/South Korea and Ireland/Northern Ireland-these countries share the same ethnic groups/ethnicities and differ only in political ideology and/or religious affiliation. The situation here differs drastically as you have an unrelated people coming into the area and claiming something which was never theirs and when pressed to provide evidence can only claim they are Macedonian because they feel it-much like I were to claim that I was Eskimo because I feel particularly cold today-that aside, their arguments are based on largely writings from the era of Ottoman occupation whereby they take refernces to "Macedonian" as a geogrpahic demonym for the various peoples in that area to refer to themselves. Otherwise writings from antiquity are quick to point out that although Macedonians were a distinct branch of Hellenism, they nevertheless were-they best oculd be described as "hillbillies" compared to the more civilised Athenians and Spartans-after all why would Alexander the Great be taught by Aristotle (who they also claim was non-Hellenic, try telling that to a serious scholar), slept with a copy of the Iliad under his pillow and when he made it to Asia Minor visited the tomb of Achilles and proceeded to later take 300 suits of armour from the vanquished Persians as tribute to the 300 Spartans-were he non-Hellenic he would have cared little for doing these things as he was not of the same stock as these figures; his vendetta against Persia was largely down to wanting to punish them for invading Hellas. Further, why would these people be allowed to compete in the Ancient Olympic Games which were the preserve of Ancient Hellenes alone-and to compete one had to prove their lineage under strenous examination but I digress as there are innumerable more examples to be found. As stated, The Ottoman Empire is accountable for starting this trend as they utilised the term Macedonia to encompass the wider region thereby granting a Macedonian identity to its inhabitants by virtue of location and not ethnicity; there never has been a "Macedonian" ethnicity ever until the 21st century when Macedonists created it and were subsequently given free-reign by Tito to achieve that end with a view of gaining access to the Aegean and ensuring that they do not come under the yolk of Bulgaria-their kinsmen; it was a purely political creation to ensure Tito could increase his influence in the Balkans. The fact remains, the Slavs of FYROM has absolutely nothing to do with Macedonia save for the fact that they are in the wider area-otherwise every other archaeoligical find, evidence and so on is in Hellenic and attests to the Hellenic character of the Ancient Macedonians-after all, why did Alexander spread Hellenism instead of "Macedonianism" (or Slavism I should say); how is that the Hellenic language spread to India and not the Slavic one these people speak? (The argument that Hellenic was a lingua-franca at the time is nonsensical and does not even merit going into). And lastly, how is that for over 2000 years these people who claim "Macedonia" have been in a state of hibernation only awakening at the early part of the 20th century to reclaim their "glorious legacy"? Their arguments are laughable and deserve contempt. Further, assuming that the Macedonians were Slavic where are the musuems with the all the evidence to prove it, where are the artefacts? All we get are manipulations and propaganda, historical revisionism and negationism of Hellas' contributions to the world etc. Do yourself a favour and read up on the subject-every credible classics department in universities the world over have verified the Hellenism of Macedonia and the issue is ultimately a case of people unfamiliar with the implications of what the name Macedonia and everything it has attached to it innocently believing that it would not be a bad thing for a country to be called after the wider region-yet they fail take into considertation the odious theft of history, the irridentism and the overt revisionism by a people lacking a history to call their own, which comes with it. Those who are impartial should read the evidence from both sides and look at the glaring lack of credible resources from FYROM-unfortunately Hellas has thus far arrogantly not used the arsenal of evidence they have to end this farce believing that the rest of the world cannot be so possibly ignorant as to ascribe a foreign identity to Macedonia-but there you have it; stranger things have happened-it is only a matter of time when these idiotic claims to Macedonia by these Slavic invaders will come to an end and then maybe they can finally be at peace when they realise they are Serbianised Bulgars who were political pawns in a game between Tito and Stalin, who were given a fake identity and have been systematically duped. Fin.

Why would Tito make his own population a macedonian idenity, eg if they were serbs to begin with why would Tito tell them from now own you will be Macedonians, it just would not work. Greece is telling the Macedonians to be slavs but its not working is it, so what did Tito tell them to change to macedonians? Absolutly nothing, Tito did'nt change the identity of the Macedonians, the Macedonians were there before Tito was born and their were not Greek. I think the Greeks are out of control with their lies and it must be stoped for their own sake.

Hey George, have you been reading Risto Stefov's propaganda? Tito is probably the only one who knows why he decided to call your lands "Macedonia" and he is not around these days :) BUT in all honesty how about this? Serbia could not have claims to the Aegean ports, but a "Macedonia" as part of his big family could!!!

Evans can you please tell me why in 1830 when greece became a nation for the first time it had no Macedonian teritory in its borders? Even Germany has maps from World War 1 of Greece without Macedonian teritory. Actully don't tell me cos i know you will came up with some lie.

Well, I still say that - following this logic - Greece should be re-named "Former Ottoman Province of Yunanistan" (which I am assured is the correct Turkish for "Greece".)

I would like to know what "compromise" is acceptable to the government in Skopje. In 17 years they have made no suggestions. Nimitz has come up with one and they don't like it. Why? ROM does occupy the northern part of geographical Macedonia doesn't it? The Greek side seems to object to the naming of the language, and not the name of the country. I think its a good solution. Perhaps the language could be alternately called slav-Macedonian or simply, Macedonian, to allay Greek concerns. The Greeks have several aces up their sleeves. It will be a walk in the park for Karamanlis to veto ROM's attempt to join the EU. This could be solved if ROM makes their own "suggestion" of a name.

The Greeks are wasting their time and effort, that doesn't mean they should give up the fight. These so called PSUEDO Macedonians who are really Slavo Bulgarians have notthing in common to real Macedodians who by the way are GREEK.To get back to my point ,you can not reason with someone who is ignorant of history , you can not reason with people who are uneducated, you can not reason with people that distort the truth,lie and above all people who have no identity and are willing to steal other peoples history and culture In closing my proof is that even their own Presidents and Prime Ministers have sai that they have nothing in common with the Macedonians and that they are SLAVS. SO FOR ANYONE TO EVEN SUGGEST that Greeks comprimize on any name with the name Macedonian init either don't know their history or are not willing to admit to the truth. these kind of people are what i call lost souls because i realy didn't think that there is that many ignorant people in FYROM.

It is simple. If Macedonians were Greek they would be called Greeks and they would speak Greek language. Since they are not, they are called Macedonians. Greece exist from the 1820s and has none whatsoever continuity from before that. There was no Greek nation before that, it was invented. And ask your self why was Greece established as a Kingdom in 1820s??? Does the word United Kingdom ring a bell. It was just an artificial state to weaken the Ottoman Empire, nothing more. And today Greece it is a mix of peoples, they is why they do not reckognise minorities, they believe if you tell a lie million times it becomes truth. Unfortunately it doesn't.

George, You asked a question, I gave you my considered opinion and you come back with an unrelated question again. You also show your insecurity with your last paragraph :) OK, here is my answer: Once upon a time the Ottomans ruled the entire Balkans. Around 1821 the Greeks revolted and with the help of the big powers established a new State in 1930. At this stage parts of lands where the majority of inhabitants were Greeks were still under Ottoman control. It wasn't until 1912-13 that most of Macedonia was liberated by the Greeks. So Macedonia was added to Greece. The other parts of Macedonia went to Serbia and Bulgaria, but since the populations there were Slavic, Greece had no interest and an exchange of populations took place. And that's how come Macedonia was not a part of Greece in 1830.

Correction: the year was 1830 not 1930 - apologies for typo

Greece is a new country but it's people are ancient. Just b/c the homeland of Greeks worldwide was occupied Ottomans it does not mean our nation/people did not exist. So tell me my historian friend, did the Greeks mysteriously disappeared all of a sudden during the 4oo yres of Ottoman occupation? According to your logic, your people did not exist b/f the 1990s when Skopje was under Serbian rule. So tell me, if Macedonia is not Greek b/c Greece didn't become independent until the 1800s then how is Macedonia Skopjian if your country only recently in the 1990s gained independence!!!!? No matter how you look at it, Greece is older than your country No one really cares for your fabricated lies

How about Greece change the name of its province to "Annexed Territory from Macedonia in 1914"

Macedonia should and must not ever change its name....Greece should change the name of their province Macedonia

@Makedonec (I use the term loosely) Wake up, grow up or just keep your mouth shut - eerr! don't touch the keyboard :) your comments sound naive and extremely stupid!

aint got no history, i aint got no identity to call my own, i cant even understand history but it dont matter because i'm the one who steals your own. NOthing but the VARDASKAN the way I'm are, Nothing but the Vardaskan the way I'm are, Love me the Vardaskan the way I'm are,it's Probably the Vardaskan the way I'm are......I'm VARDASKAN everything is what it is!