Macedonia may be renamed to resolve dispute
GREECE: Macedonia is considering adopting a new name, to counter Greek resistance to its membership of Nato and amid growing concerns over Russian interference in the Balkans.
Macedonia’s new government, which was sworn in last month, told Nato leaders yesterday that the former Yugoslav republic was ready to compromise in the longrunning dispute with its southern neighbour, to improve the stability of the wider region.
Greece vetoed Macedonia’s application to join Nato in 2008 over the republic’s name, which it shares with a northern Greek province.
Athens regards Macedonia’s name as a challenge to its territorial integrity, implying a claim to the Greek area of the same name. It also accuses Macedonia of appropriating Greek culture and symbols, including the ancient Greek hero Alexander the Great, whom Macedonia’s previous government sought to recast as its national hero.
Macedonia shares its name with its dominant Slavic ethnic group and its language, a source of discord with the millions of Greeks who also identify as Macedonians.
The dispute took on new potency after the breakup of Yugoslavia and Macedonia’s emergence as an independent republic. It compromised to join the United Nations, using the name the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Its nationalist government, however, refused to use that name for applications to join Nato.
In 2008 the European Union and Greece vetoed Macedonia’s bid to join the alliance. Macedonia became more resolute, erecting a huge statue of Alexander the Great in the capital, Skopje, and naming airports, stadiums and motorways after him.
The swearing in of a new, multiethnic coalition government, coupled with fears of Russian attempts to stir up trouble in the western Balkans, have opened up room for compromise. Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki is travelling to Athens to open discussions on the dispute, amid revelations over Russian interference in the country.
Leaked intelligence documents show that Russian spies and diplomats have been involved in efforts to stir up ethnic tensions in Macedonia between dominant Slavs and minority Albanians. The documents suggest that Russia’s efforts to stop Macedonia moving closer to the West helped to spur on the political and ethnic crisis it hopes to resolve with the new coalition government.
Macedonia has not indicated what alternative name it might adopt, only its willingness to explore the issue with the Greeks.
- The Times