Lavrov: Greece should not make concessions in FYROM name talks

Efforts to revive the debate about the official name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are linked to Washington's desire to induct that country into NATO, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a press conference.

For a long time negotiations on the issue had been in a "semi-inert state" and were only revived when the US decided that FYROM should be in NATO, Lavrov said.

He added that as Greece is already a member of NATO it should not make any concessions.

As regards a potential resolution to a longstanding dispute between Greece and FYROM over the latter's official name, Lavrov said that Moscow would back it as long as it is ratified by Skopje's constitution.