Macedonia wants EU membership process, Greek talks to run in tandem

FILE PHOTO: Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov attends a news conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias following a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Athens, Greece, June 14, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas - RC131A76C630/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Macedonia hopes it has done enough to convince the European Union to start accession talks while a quarter-of-a-century-long row with neighbouring Greece rumbles on, its foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Greece has vetoed the ex-Yugoslav republic's attempts to join both the EU and NATO because it says the name Macedonia implies a territorial claim over Greece's own northerly region of Macedonia.