Zoran Zaev

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker is embarking on a Western Balkan tour to promote the EU's new strategy for the region.

Juncker's tour to the six Balkan countries that remain outside the European Union starts in Macedonia, where he will hold talks with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on February 25.

All those involved in negotiations aimed at resolving a dispute between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia over the latter's name are keen to reach a solution by the end of March, FYROM's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in comments published by the Balkan Insight website on Friday.

Greece's ongoing negotiations with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) over the latter's name entail a serious risk.

If talks collapse, it will be of major importance which side is blamed for the failure. The government in Skopje, led by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, has been very active, forging alliances and cultivating a positive image regarding its intentions.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday hailed progress in talks between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, noting that a solution appeared "close."

"I am very pleased and relieved that... there is movement in the talks," Merkel told a press conference in Berlin with FYROM's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

Macedonia recently also decided to rename Skopje's Alexander the Great Airport. This is taking place amid negotiations with Greec, aimed at resolving the decades-long dispute between the two countries over the name of Macedonia.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said on Monday that he would visit Skopje "in the next few days" and bring with him a proposal to resolve the dispute.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was pleased by the recent progress in the talks between Macedonia and Greece over Macedonia's name, which - if they end successfully - will expedite Macedonia's ambitions to join NATO and EU.

Macedonia is closer than any time in the last decade to settling a long-standing dispute over its name with Greece which has thwarted Skopje's ambitions to join NATO and the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday, quoted by Reuters. 

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is closer than any time in the last decade to settling a long-standing dispute over its name with Greece which has thwarted Skopje's ambitions to join NATO and the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday.

As talks between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on the latter's name slowly progress, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday discussed the matter by phone.

FYROM (Macedonia) hopes to settle its decades-old name dispute with Greece by the time of a NATO summit in the summer, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on February 19.

Greece objects to the former Yugoslav republic's use of the name Macedonia, which Athens says could imply territorial claims over its own northern region of the same name.