SKOPJE, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Macedonia is set to solve the name row with Greece in a dignified way that is mutually accepted by both sides, Macedonian government spokesman Mile Bosnjakovski told a news conference on Wednesday.
Government representative noted that optimism to solve the two-decade long dispute existing between Macedonia and Greece was still high.
"We are not negotiating via media and are not sending messages through media, but saying that positions of both sides have approximated," Bosnjakovski said.
The spokesman also rebuffed a report published by news agency Reuters on Tuesday, which quoted Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev as saying that Macedonia was ready to make small changes to country's constitution.
Bosnjakovski said that Zaev never mentioned that the constitution could undergo slight changes.
Also, the report said that Zaev said during the interview with the agency that Macedonia had put forward four names regarding the name change.
Even for such a statement, Bosnjakovski told the press conference that Zaev had reiterated the proposals were provided by United Nations envoy Mathew Nimetz.
"These are not Macedonia's proposals, but part of the package that Nimetz has put forward to Macedonia and Greece," he explained to reporters here.
Bosnjakovski added that Reuters had corrected their news item regarding the interview of Zaev, since its initial report was erroneous.
Athens and Skopje have been at odds over the use of the name of Macedonia since Greece's northern neighbor broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991.
Macedonia is formally called Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) at the UN. Macedonia is also the name of a northern province in Greece and Athens is worried that the use of the same name by the neighboring state could lead to territorial claims.
The solving of name row that exists between two countries is seen as main obstacle that Macedonia has to overcome in order to make progress towards the European Union and NATO integration.
During the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008, Greece vetoed FYROM's application to enter the alliance without having solved the name issue. As Skopje has renewed efforts to join the EU and NATO, Greece has signaled that its position remains unchanged.
