Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said he wants to hold a referendum on a new name for the country in September or October, as talks with Greece over a decades-old naming dispute reach the “final stage.”

In a press conference on Wednesday marking his government’s first year in office, Zaev told reporters in Skopje he is expecting a phone call from Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras by “Friday at the latest,” after which Zaev expects a “breakthrough in the talks.”

The two countries have been working to resolve a debate on Macedonia’s name which has seen Greece block the country’s NATO and EU membership bids. Zaev refused to disclose any potential country names until a final settlement is officially reached, but the Macedonian leader promised the identity of the country would be protected.

The Macedonian prime minister’s announcement comes after Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Dimitrov concluded negotiations in Brussels on Monday, according to Greece’s Ekathimerini. “The documents that have been drafted at a ministerial level will be delivered to the two prime ministers who will discuss between themselves and reach a final deal,” Kotzias said.

Zaev told reporters that before a referendum can be held, any agreement would need to be ratified by parliament. He said he hopes Greece will lift its opposition to NATO membership by a July summit of the alliance.

Greece’s Kotzias said resolving the name dispute is in Greece’s “national interest.” </s> Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev says that talks between Macedonia and neighboring Greece on his country’s name are in a “final” phase, adding that a referendum on whatever solution is found will be held in the autumn.

“Today, tomorrow, or on Friday at the latest, I will speak with [Greek Prime Minister Alexis] Tsipras, after which I expect a breakthrough in the talks,” Zaev said on May 30 at a news conference marking one year since he took office.

The name dispute between Macedonia and Greece dates back to 1991, when Skopje declared independence following the collapse of communist Yugoslavia.

Athens objects to Macedonia's name because it has a northern province called Macedonia and fears it may imply territorial ambitions.

The dispute has hampered Macedonia's ambitions to join both the European Union and NATO.

Zaev did not reveal any details about the possible compromise name or names that are currently on the table, but said that in any case Macedonia’s identity would be protected.

Any new name for his country that is agreed with Greece will be put to a referendum to be held “in September or October, when we expect the citizens to give us directions for our future moves,” he also said.

Before the referendum is held, Zaev said the expected agreement would be put to parliament for ratification in order to allow Greece to lift its blockade in NATO ahead of the military alliance’s summit in July.

Greece has said it is prepared to lift its objection to Macedonia's membership in NATO if an agreement on the name issue can be reached.

After meeting in Brussels on May 28, the foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia said that they have completed the main round of negotiations on the contentious issue and were ready to hand the final stage over to the countries' prime ministers.

With reporting by AP and Balkan Insight </s> Amid hopes of a solution on the "Macedonia" name dispute, the prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Zoran Zaev clarified, during a press conference on Wednesday organized to mark the first year of his government's work, that "there is still no final agreement" but "an agreement on the principles, and the formal and legal aspect of the agreement."

A telephone conversation with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras could be held "tonight, tomorrow or Friday," Zaev said, adding he expects to make a step forward.

Zaev did not disclose published information on the steps to be taken if an agreement on the name dispute is reached in terms of obtaining an EU membership date, an invitation to join NATO and a referendum on which citizens will have to say the final word on the agreement with Greece.

"There will be a referendum, citizens have the final vote," Zaev said, adding that "citizens are waiting for leadership, true patriots are the ones that provide a future for the citizens."

He said that the language and the identity of citizens have been confirmed in the planned agreement with Greece, and that the two countries had never been closer to a solution. Zaev also confirmed that FYROM aimed to ratify the agreement in Parliament by a majority of votes before a referendum so that Greece can send a letter to NATO in order for FYROM to receive an invitation to join the Alliance.

"We will become a NATO member after solving the name issue," Zaev said.

He repeated that FYROM will have its "fourth Ilinden" and said that it yearns "for a Macedonia in which citizens are free from prejudices and fears of the past."

Zaev refused to comment on whether the proposed name "Ilinden Macedonia" is still on the negotiating table. </s> SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia’s prime minister pledged on Sunday to press on with a vote in parliament to change the country’s name to resolve a decades-old dispute with Greece, despite failing to secure the 50 percent turnout at a referendum required to make it valid.

The proposed name change is part of an agreement reached in June by pro-Western Prime Minister Zoran Zaev with Greece to resolve the dispute over the country’s name, which had prevented Macedonia from joining NATO or the EU.

With 85 percent of votes counted, official turnout was just 36 percent, and election officials made clear there was no chance the threshold would be cleared.

“On this referendum, it is clear that the decision has not been made,” election commission head Oliver Derkoski told reporters.

The people who did vote overwhelmingly backed the name change — more than 90 percent voted yes with 63 percent of polling stations reporting. But that had never been in doubt, since opponents of the change had urged followers not to vote, rather than vote no.

Related Coverage Macedonia name referendum fails to reach turnout threshold: election commission

“It is clear that the agreement with Greece has not received the green light from the people,” main nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party leader Hristiajn Mickoski told journalists.

The referendum was itself not legally binding, but lawmakers had pledged to abide by it, and the failure to reach the turnout threshold means opponents can now freely vote against the deal.

The nationalist opposition holds 49 seats in the 120-seat parliament, enough to block the two-thirds majority required to change the constitution.

In an address, Zaev made no mention of the turnout but said the votes of those who had backed the change must be respected. He pledged to hold a vote in parliament on the name change, and call an early election if lawmakers failed to enact it.

“I am determined to take Macedonia into the European Union and NATO,” Zaev said. He spoke again later in the evening, along similar lines: “It is time to support European Macedonia.”

Macedonia's PM Zoran Zaev, his wife Zorica and his son Dushko cast their ballot for the referendum in Macedonia on changing the country's name that would open the way for it to join NATO and the European Union in Strumica, Macedonia September 30, 2018. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski

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The Greek foreign ministry said it respected the will of the people of the country, which it refers to by the provisional name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The referendum passed judgment on the agreement with Greece reached in June, under which Macedonia would change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia. Greece, which has its own province called Macedonia, maintains that its northern neighbor’s name represents a claim on its territory.

Because of the dispute, Greece has vetoed Macedonia’s entrance into NATO and the EU. While polls have long showed that a vast majority of Macedonians want to join NATO and the EU, nationalist opponents of the name change argued that it undermined the ethnic identity of Macedonia’s Slavic majority.

The question on the referendum ballot read: “Are you for NATO and EU membership with acceptance of the agreement with Greece”.

Supporters of the name change argued that it was a price worth paying to pursue admission into bodies such as the EU and NATO.

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“I came today to vote for the future of the country, for young people in Macedonia so they can be live freely under the umbrella of the European Union because it means safer lives for all of us,” said Olivera Georgijevska, 79, in Skopje.

But opponents said the name change represented national humiliation.

“We are for NATO and EU, but we want to join with our heads up, not through the service door,” said Vladimir Kavadarkov, who backed the referendum boycott. “We are a poor country, but we do have dignity.” </s> Macedonia: Parliament to vote on referendum on name deal

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Macedonian lawmakers will vote on a government's proposal setting down details for a referendum over a deal with neighboring Greece to change the country's name to North Macedonia.

The proposals are expected to be approved Monday. Prime Minister Zoran Zaev's coalition holds 67 of parliament's 120 seats, and a simple majority is required.

Zaev has suggested the referendum be held Sept. 30 with the question: "Are you in favor of European Union and NATO membership by accepting the agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece?"

The two countries have been at odds for decades over the smaller country's use of the name Macedonia, which Greece says implies territorial claims over its own province of the same name. </s> Macedonia's prime minister vowed last night to press on with a vote in parliament to change the country's name to resolve a decades-old dispute with Greece, despite not getting 50pc turnout at a referendum required to make it valid.

Macedonia's prime minister vowed last night to press on with a vote in parliament to change the country's name to resolve a decades-old dispute with Greece, despite not getting 50pc turnout at a referendum required to make it valid.

The proposed name change is part of an agreement reached in June by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev with Greece to resolve the dispute over the country's name, which had prevented Macedonia from joining Nato or the EU.

With 85pc of votes counted, official turnout was just 36pc, and election officials made clear there was no chance the threshold would be cleared.

The people who did vote overwhelmingly backed the name change - more than 90pc voted Yes with 63pc of polling stations reporting. But that had never been in doubt, since opponents of the change had urged followers not to vote, rather than vote No.

"It is clear that the agreement with Greece has not received the green light from the people," main nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party leader Hristiajn Mickoski said.

The referendum was itself not legally binding, but politicians had pledged to abide by it. The failure to reach the turnout threshold means opponents can now freely vote against the deal.

In an address, Mr Zaev made no mention of the turnout but said the votes of those who had backed the change must be respected. He pledged to hold a vote in parliament on the name change. </s> Greece has welcomed an announcement by the Macedonian prime minister that his country is willing to change its name, in a sign that one of the world’s most vexing disputes could soon be solved.



Athens described Zoran Zaev’s readiness to add a geographical qualifier as “a positive step” that would dispel fears of territorial claims over Greece’s adjacent region of Macedonia.

Among the new names being considered are Upper Macedonia, New Macedonia, Northern Macedonia and Macedonia (Skopje), according to well-placed diplomats.

“This is an important development,” said the Greek foreign ministry in a statement released shortly after Zaev said the Balkan state would also rename its airport and national motorway.

“We hope that it marks the start of a new chapter in the relations between our two countries and peoples.”

Compromise is unpopular in sections of Greek society. On Wednesday, the Greek Orthodox church held an extraordinary meeting of its governing synod to discuss the name issue.

Clerics were among the hundreds of thousands of people who protested in Athens on Sunday over the prospect of a solution that would include the word Macedonia.

The region of Macedonia, formerly part of the Ottoman empire, spreads across Greece, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. Athens has objected to its northern neighbour’s use of the name since it proclaimed independence in 1991, arguing that it projected irredentist ambitions.

Addressing reporters late on Tuesday, Zaev said the country’s Alexander the Great airport would henceforth be known as International Airport Skopje, and its main transit route to Greece would drop a similar moniker and be called the Friendship highway.

It is the first time since 1993, when the landlocked country joined the UN under a provisional name, that Skopje has made such concessions. All three moves were described as confidence-building measures by both sides. Greece’s prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, is as keen as Zaev to reach a settlement.

The two leaders are under intense political pressure to resolve the row, which has held up the Balkan nation’s drive to join Nato and the EU. The 27-year-old dispute is also blamed for endangering western-style liberal politics across Europe’s most historically volatile region, where growing Russian intervention is increasingly a cause for alarm.

Greece used its right of veto to stop Skopje joining Nato in 2008 and has since blocked EU accession talks, despite the country taking significant steps to open up its economy. Efforts to settle the row have often come up against nationalist opposition on both sides of the frontier.

Though a progressive on national issues, Tsipras is in government with the rightwing Independent Greeks party, which has taken a hard line on the name row.

James Ker-Lindsay, a professor of politics at St Mary’s University in London, said: “From the perspective of Skopje, I think we are potentially close to an agreement.

“My big worry is Greece. Although the current Greek government wants to see the issue resolved, it is so politicised it is hard to see how they could push it through.”

Greece’s public order minister disclosed last week that the foreign minister, Nikos Kotzias, and several other senior government officials had received death threats for their conciliatory stance on the issue. </s> Macedonia's prime minister says any new name for his country that is agreed with neighboring Greece will be put to a referendum to be held later this year.

Speaking at a news conference marking one year since he took office, Zoran Zaev said Wednesday that Skopje and Athens have never been closer to reaching an agreement over Macedonia's name, which has been the subject of a decades-long dispute.

Macedonia's government has committed to modifying the republic's name to address Greek concerns that the current one implies territorial claims on the northern Greek province of the same name. In return, Athens has promised to lift its objections to Macedonia's NATO and European Union membership

Zaev said a referendum on whatever solution is found will be held in September or October. </s> SKOPJE (Reuters) - Macedonia’s prime minister pledged on Sunday to press on with a vote in parliament to change the country’s name, although his coalition acknowledged a referendum appeared to have failed to secure the 50 percent turnout needed to make it legally valid.

The proposed name change is part of an agreement reached in June by pro-Western Prime Minister Zoran Zaev with Macedonia’s neighbor Greece to resolve a decades-old dispute that had prevented Macedonia from joining NATO or the EU.

With the official turnout tally stuck at 34 percent half an hour before polls closed, a ruling coalition official acknowledged that it seemed unlikely that the 50 percent threshold would be reached. The opposition said the low turnout proved that Macedonians had rejected the name change.

Election officials still had not updated the official turnout figure hours after polls shut. Partial results showed that the people who did vote overwhelmingly backed the name change — more than 90 percent voted yes with 63 percent of polling stations reporting.

But that had never been in doubt, since opponents of the change had urged followers not to vote, rather than vote no.

“It is clear that the agreement with Greece has not received the green light from the people,” main nationalist opposition VMRO-DPMNE party leader Hristiajn Mickoski told journalists.

In an address, Zaev made no mention of the turnout but said most people who had voted had backed the change and their votes must be respected. He pledged to hold a vote in parliament on the name change, and said he would call an early election if lawmakers failed to give it the two-thirds majority needed to change the constitution.

“I am determined to take Macedonia into the European Union and NATO,” Zaev said.

While the referendum is officially not binding, a failure to reach the turnout threshold would be a blow to Zaev.

The Greek foreign ministry said it respected the will of the people of the country, which it refers to by the provisional name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

The referendum passed judgment on the agreement with Greece reached in June, under which Macedonia would change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia. Greece, which has a province called Macedonia, maintains that its northern neighbor’s name represents a claim on its territory.

Because of the dispute, Greece has vetoed Macedonia’s entrance into NATO and the EU. While a majority of Macedonians want to join NATO and the EU, nationalist opponents of the name change argued that it undermines the ethnic identity of Macedonia’s Slavic majority population.

The question on the referendum ballot read: “Are you for NATO and EU membership with acceptance of the agreement with Greece”.

“It is clear now that it (turnout) is unlikely to reach the threshold of 50 pct,” the ruling party official told Reuters.

Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told Greek radio on Sunday: “We are looking forward to a positive result for the validation process to continue and to move to the next stage, the constitutional revision.”

Supporters of the name change argue that it is a price worth paying to pursue admission into bodies such as the EU and NATO.

“I came today to vote for the future of the country, for young people in Macedonia so they can be live freely under the umbrella of the European Union because it means safer lives for all of us,” said Olivera Georgijevska, 79, in Skopje.

But opponents said the name change represented national humiliation.

“We are for NATO and EU, but we want to join with our heads up, not through the service door,” said Vladimir Kavadarkov, who backed the referendum boycott. “We are a poor country, but we do have dignity.”
According to Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, talks with Greece on Macedonia's name are in a final phase. Zaev says that if a compromise name for the country is agreed upon, it will be put to a referendum.