What’s in a name? In a bizarre case, this may mean NATO membership.
Macedonia, created during the breakup of Yugoslavia, was invited to join the alliance in 2008, but its membership was vetoed by Greece, which already has its own province called Macedonia.
Athens claimed the name gave the impression that the country aimed to annex the province of Macedonia – or at least that it was appropriating Greece’s historical heritage.
So, Macedonia (the country) has now changed its name to North Macedonia.
Greece now has “a new friend in North Macedonia”, the renamed country’s President Zoran Zaev said after the name change became official on Friday.
Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, leader of the right-wing Independent Party, nevertheless remains fiercely opposed to this proposal. A Greek government spokeswoman said the timetable for possible NATO ratification would be clarified next week.
