TIRANA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Thursday sent a letter to his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski extending his country's support of Macedonia's accession to NATO, news reaching here from Skopje reported.

    "Britain remains convinced of Macedonia's rightful place as a full member of NATO and will continue to work to that end," Brown told Gruevski in his letter.

    The letter says Britain is disappointed Macedonia did not receive a NATO membership invitation at the Bucharest summit in Romania early this month.

    Macedonia's NATO membership was blocked by Greece over a 17-year-long name dispute between the two countries at the NATO summit in Romania.

    Athens opposes its neighbor's constitutional name of "The Republic of Macedonia", arguing it implies a territorial claim over a Greek northern province also called Macedonia.

    "I believe the best way forward for Macedonia is to maintain its strong commitment to NATO and EU. I am convinced that a NATO invitation and an opening date for the start of EU accession negotiations is achievable in the coming months," Brown said in the letter.

    Brown said constructive engagement and resolution of the name issue with Greece will be key in moving forward, urging Macedonia to continue with its efforts to that end.