The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia changed its name to North Macedonia. I was surprised when I heard this news from my English teacher who’s North Macedonian. I was not aware of it. It looks like North Macedonia wants to develop a mutual rapport with European countries rather than with Russia. However, Greece disapproved of the use of “Macedonia” by North Macedonia. Greece insists that most parts of the ancient Macedonian kingdom territory are part of modern Greece, therefore they object to the usage of the ancient kingdom’s title. Greece doesn’t support the reclaiming of ancient Macedonian territory by North Macedonia.
When I travelled to North Macedonia and Greece in 2007, I did not know about conflicts. Recently, I read the history books on Philippos II and Alexandros III and it was very interesting, so I started thinking that I would like to study history more.
¶At the Bogorodica border crossing with Greece, Macedonian workers on Wednesday placed stencils on road signs bearing their country’s official new name, the Republic of North Macedonia, making a first step in implementing a landmark deal with Athens. ¶Greece and Macedonia agreed on the new name last June and Athens lifted its 27-year veto on its tiny neighbour’s efforts to join NATO and the European Union. […] Full text is here. Referenced from Reuters, 13 February, 2019