This European country is seriously considering changing its name in order to join NATO

World News Nilgun Salim
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After fighting for 25 years, Macedonia seems determined to put an end to the conflict with Greece

The new Macedonian Social Democrat Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev, unveiled his plan to change his state’s name shortly after his accession in the government in July.

The dispute dates back from Yugoslavia’s proclamation as a republic in 1991 when the new state also claimed the history of ancient Macedonia, writes AFP.

More specifically, the period of Macedonia’s greatest kings Filip II of Macedonia (382-336 BC) and his son Alexander the Great (356-323 BC). The center of their kingdom was on the current territory of Macedonia in the northern region of the Greek territory.

Since then, Athens has denied the Skopje administration from the right of naming the country Macedonia and, until the case is being solved, Athens also opposes to Macedonia’s accession to the European Union and NATO.

Meanwhile, Macedonia is not designated by Greece as most of the Western European countries with its provisional name – recognized by the UN – FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia).

Currently, Greeks generally refer to ‘Skopje’, as the current capital of the former Yugoslav republic.

On the Greek side, the name dispute began in 1992 with one million people – 1/10 of the Greek population – on the streets of Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia.

In 2016, Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas was threatened after he referred to the neighboring country as ‘Macedonia’ on live television.

The change of tone came after Zoran Zaev’s became the head of the government. He estimated his country might, temporarily, become a NATO member under the name of FYROM (The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia).