Athens optimistic over FYROM name talks

During a cabinet meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said it would become clear over the next few days if real progress on the decades-old name dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) was "feasible."

Tsipras's remarks appear to confirm reports there will be a push for a solution, which could even begin in January. "We have a window for a solution, to the extent that our neighbors' shift proves to be honest," he said.

For his part, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias told the cabinet that Greece's stance will be the same as that held by the government in talks in 2007 and 2008 - namely in favor of a composite name with a geographic qualifier.

Kotzias slammed previous governments for the problems his government has "inherited," noting that foreign policy in the past has been reactive rather than proactive.

The...