Greece, Macedonia To Discuss Name Dispute At Davos
Protesters rally against the use of the term "Macedonia" for the northern neighboring country's name in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on January 21.
Leaders from Greece and Macedonia say they will meet in Switzerland this week as they continue to seek a solution to a nearly three-decade-old name dispute.
A Greek government spokesman said on January 22 that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will meet his Macedonian counterpart, Zoran Zaev, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 25.
Athens says the use of the name Macedonia suggests Skopje has territorial claims to Greece's northern region of Macedonia, which includes the port city of Thessaloniki.
Greece's objections to Skopje's use of the name Macedonia since the country's independence in 1991 have complicated the bids by the ex-Yugoslav republic to join the Europe Union and NATO.
Authorities from both Greece and Macedonia have said that they want to settle the issue this year.
UN-mediated talks between the two countries' chief negotiators in New York on January 17 did not produce concrete results but some name suggestions were put forward for negotiation, according to media reports.
Greece wants Macedonia to change its name -- adding a modifier like "New" or "North" -- to clarify that it has no claim on the neighboring Greek province of Macedonia.
However, many Greeks disagree with such a solution.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on January 21 to show they were against the use of the word "Macedonia" in any solution to the row.
PHOTO GALLERY: Greeks Rally For 'Macedonia'
Greeks Rally For 'Macedonia'
1/8A crowd gathers in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki on January 21 to protest the use of the name "Macedonia" by Greece's northern neighbor. The region of Greece around Thessaloniki is also called Macedonia.
Agency photographs show the scale and emotion of the January 21 protest in Greece over who has the right to use the name "Macedonia." Feelings have been stirred by recent suggestions out of Athens and Skopje that a compromise might be at hand to the 26-year name dispute.
2/8Greeks chant slogans during the protest that police say attracted 90,000 people. Reuters estimated the crowd at "hundreds of thousands."
Agency photographs show the scale and emotion of the January 21 protest in Greece over who has the right to use the name "Macedonia." Feelings have been stirred by recent suggestions out of Athens and Skopje that a compromise might be at hand to the 26-year name dispute.
3/8The crowd surrounds a statue of Alexander The Great during the Thessaloniki protest. Participants sang Greece's national anthem and held banners reading, "There is only one Macedonia and it is Greek!"
Agency photographs show the scale and emotion of the January 21 protest in Greece over who has the right to use the name "Macedonia." Feelings have been stirred by recent suggestions out of Athens and Skopje that a compromise might be at hand to the 26-year name dispute.
4/8Greeks in traditional clothing during the protest. The current dispute over the name "Macedonia" dates back to the early 1990s and the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. In 1993, Macedonia was admitted into the United Nations under the "provisional" name The Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia, or FYROM, although most have since adopted simply Republic Of Macedonia.
Agency photographs show the scale and emotion of the January 21 protest in Greece over who has the right to use the name "Macedonia." Feelings have been stirred by recent suggestions out of Athens and Skopje that a compromise might be at hand to the 26-year name dispute.
5/8A military vehicle patrols the Greece-Macedonia border in 2016. Athens says Skopje's use of the name "Macedonia" suggests irredentist and territorial claims over Greece's northern region of the same name.
Agency photographs show the scale and emotion of the January 21 protest in Greece over who has the right to use the name "Macedonia." Feelings have been stirred by recent suggestions out of Athens and Skopje that a compromise might be at hand to the 26-year name dispute.
6/8A huge statue to Alexander The Great, also known as "King Alexander III of Macedon," in Skopje, the capital of Macedonia. According to veteran UN mediator Matthew Nimetz, a resolution to the impasse between Skopje and Athens is within reach.
Agency photographs show the scale and emotion of the January 21 protest in Greece over who has the right to use the name "Macedonia." Feelings have been stirred by recent suggestions out of Athens and Skopje that a compromise might be at hand to the 26-year name dispute.
7/8Protesters at the January 21 rally in Thessaloniki. Many hard-liners in Greece insist that whatever name is agreed for the former Yugoslav republic, the title must not include the term "Macedonia." Others, including Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsipras, have indicated they would accept "Macedonia" to be included in a compound name.
Agency photographs show the scale and emotion of the January 21 protest in Greece over who has the right to use the name "Macedonia." Feelings have been stirred by recent suggestions out of Athens and Skopje that a compromise might be at hand to the 26-year name dispute.
8/8In January, Nimetz reportedly suggested the term "Macedonia" will be kept in the proposal for a name change, "as it has already been recognized by more than 100 countries in the world." Negotiators and officials in Skopje and Athens say they hope to resolve the long-running dispute within months.
Agency photographs show the scale and emotion of the January 21 protest in Greece over who has the right to use the name "Macedonia." Feelings have been stirred by recent suggestions out of Athens and Skopje that a compromise might be at hand to the 26-year name dispute.
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At the UN, Macedonia is formally known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
However, the Security Council has agreed that it is a provisional name.
Macedonia also has been admitted to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund under the FYROM moniker.
Most countries, including Russia and the United States, recognize the country's constitutional title, the Republic of Macedonia.
In 2019, RFE/RL's Balkan Service marked 25 years of reporting in one of the world’s most contested regions, championing professionalism and moderation in a media landscape that is sharply divided along ethnic and partisan lines.
