Athens and Skopje signed an agreement on the new name of Macedonia
SKOPJE, June 17. /TASS/. The foreign Ministers of Greece and Macedonia Nikos Kotzias and Nikola Dimitrov signed on Sunday the agreement under which the former Yugoslav Republic is renamed the Republic of Northern Macedonia. As reported by the Macedonian news Agency, the signing of the document took place at the Greek border with Macedonia and Albania.
“We are proud of this agreement. We are proud to have United around the solution that divided us, and chose a solution that unites us”, — said the Prime Minister of Macedonia Zoran Zaev after the signing of the agreement.
The signing ceremony was attended by Matthew Nimitz, the UN mediator in the dispute between Athens and Skopje, Deputy Secretary for political Affairs rosemary Di Carlo, the EU high representative for foreign Affairs and security policy Federica Mogherini and European Commissioner for European neighbourhood policy and enlargement Johannes Hahn.
It clarifies the Reuters, the agreement must be approved by the parliaments of the two countries, and in Macedonia — and even in the referendum.
The dispute between Macedonia and Greece about the name of the former Yugoslav Republic, which coincides with the name of the Northern Greek region, was carried out over 25 years. Athens sought to change the name of the neighboring country and opposed its entry into the EU and NATO.