The Greek side is ready for a meeting between Prime Minister George Papandreou and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) premier Nikola Gruevski, foreign ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras indicated on Thursday.

"Our position is that it is good for the prime ministers of Greece and FYROM to meet at every opportunity. This is why we were disappointed when we saw that Nikola Gruevski did not come finally to New York. We hoped that it would be an opportunity for the two leaders to have another meeting, for a better climate in order to reach a solution via cooperation with the UN," Delavekouras said.

The spokesman was replying to questions about Gruevski's recent statement that he desired to meet Papandreou before the NATO summit.

Asked whether the subject was raised in talks between Greece's leadership and visiting NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the spokesman underlined that NATO had taken a clear and unanimous position on the issue of the name dispute in Bucharest, which was that FYROM's NATO entry would depend on achieving a mutually acceptable solution.

He also noted the Greek side's desire for progress and said that Athens had "put its positions on the table in an absolutely clear way. We believe that a name containing a geographic determinant for all uses is a fair solution and we are waiting for the leadership of the neighbouring country to participate constructively in the negotiating process," he underlined.