National Macedonian flags flutter in front of the government building in Skopje, Macedonia June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski
June 15, 2018
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece and Macedonia will on June 17 sign an accord to change the name of the former Yugoslav republic, sources said on Friday, as the governments of both countries faced mounting opposition at home over the deal.
The accord would be signed in the Prespes region, a lake district which borders Greece, Macedonia and Albania.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his counterpart Zoran Zaev have agreed the country will officially be called the “Republic of Northern Macedonia”. It is currently known formally at the United Nations under the interim name “Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.
The deal has triggered fierce opposition in both countries. The Macedonian president has vowed to block the accord, and in Greece, opposition has mounted a no-confidence vote against Tsipras in parliament.
Athens has long objected to its northern neighbor’s use of the name ‘Macedonia’, saying it implies territorial claims on a northern Greek province of that name and amounts to appropriation of Greece’s ancient cultural heritage.
The accord, which based on a draft is to be signed by the foreign ministers of both countries, requires ratification by national parliaments and must pass a referendum in Macedonia.
(Reporting by Athens newsroom; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
