The United States supports efforts to resolve the "name issue" between Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM), a Pentagon spokeswoman said in Washington on Tuesday, while adding that the US administration "stands by the decision NATO made at its 2008 summit in Bucharest."
Dana White spoke after a meeting in the US capital between Defense Secretary James N. Mattis and the visiting defense minister from fYRoM, Radmila Shekerinska, using the stand-alone term "Macedonia" for Greece's northern neighbor but at the same time reminding of the Bucharest summit decision that essentially calls on Skopje to first resolve the "name issue" before proceeding with membership in the Alliance.
Washington recognized the one-time Yugoslav constituent with its constitutional name days after George W. Bush was re-elected as president in November 2004. The provisional " former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" is used by NATO, the EU and UN.
In a statement disseminated by the US Pentagon, the spokeswoman said "Mattis and Shekerinska discussed the pending name issue with Greece, which has prevented Macedonian accession to NATO. Greece and the Republic of Macedonia, formerly a region within Yugoslavia, are engaged in a political dispute on 'Macedonia'."
