A State Department spokeswoman this week praised what she called a "historic" agreement signed by Athens and Skopje to finally resolve the long-standing "fYRoM name issue", speaking after a meeting in Washington between US Secreatry of State Mike Pompeo with the visiting foreign minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Nikola Dimitrov.
"The Secretary congratulated his counterpart on the historic Prespa (Prespes) Agreement between Macedonia and Greece," spokeswoman Heather Nauert said, referring to the constitutional name of the neighboring country, "Macedonia".
Greece insists on the provisional former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the essence of the difference between Athens and Skopje since the one-time Yugoslav republic breakaway from the one-time Yugoslavia in 1991.
"The Secretary expressed his support for the Prespa Agreement, the implementation of which will allow the country to join NATO as North Macedonia and facilitate the opening of accession negotiations with the European Union. The Secretary and the Foreign Minister discussed the next steps in the implementation of the agreement, including the upcoming September 30 referendum. The Secretary noted the referendum presented an opportunity for citizens to voice their opinions on an issue of vital importance to the future of Macedonia," Nauert added.
