Greece insists on veto unless name dispute resolved

Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis reiterated Athens' threat to veto Macedonia's NATO entry at the upcoming summit in Bucharest unless the two countries can resolve the long-standing dispute over Macedonia's name.

"We have made our position clear: If there is no solution, there will be no invitation for the neighboring country to join NATO," Bakoyannis said on Monday.

According to Bakoyannis, Greece wants to fully normalize its relations with Macedonia on the basis of a mutually agreeable solution.

Macedonia, Croatia and Albania hope to secure NATO membership invitations at the upcoming NATO summit in Bucharest.

Greek government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said Monday that Greece won't quit its threat to veto Macedonia's NATO entry under the reference FYROM, a provisional name by which Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations.

"We did everything we could to persuade our neighbours to take the necessary steps for resolution," Roussopoulos said.

He added that Greece is not ready to make further concessions apart from the ones already made.

"The correctness of our position arises from history," Greek government spokesman said.