The premiers of FYRMacedonia and Greece - Nikola Gruevski and George Papandreou - met Tuesday for the eight time at the sidelines of the EU-Africa summit in Tripoli, which is seen as an established practice in the Macedonian-Greek dialogue at the highest political level.

Following premiers' meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Milososki stated that these talks could contribute to further bolster the trust between Macedonia and Greece.

"It is essential that both Macedonia and Greece have the political willingness this Macedonian-Greek dialogue to resume in the future," noted Milososki.

The 45-minute meeting was held upon mutual initiative.

FM Milososki said that both sides prior to the Tripoli event, where the presence of Gruevski and Papandreou was announced, had showed interest in holding bilateral talks as a chance to exchange viewpoints.

"By resuming the Macedonian-Greek dialogue, a positive tone is being accredited to our communication being neighbouring countries," the FM added.

In addition to the name dispute, PMs Gruevski and Papandreou also discussed economic developments in Greece, EU and the Eurozone as well as ways to boost economic and regional cooperation in such circumstances.

Asked about the December meeting of the European Council, Milososki said it would focus on EU's internal issues.

"We'll try and divert the attention of EU members that back the enlargement process on Macedonia and other candidate countries, however it is expected internal issues to dominate at the meeting," Minister Milososki stated.

He noted that this year's European Commission report on Macedonia's progress and its recommendation for start of accession talks was Macedonia's most significant argument.

"With all the criteria being met, we should be given a chance to make the next step in the EU integration process," FM Milososki added.