Controversies

The non-paper circulated by the Greek government on Tuesday explaining the deal agreed between the Prime Ministers of Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is an interpretation of the agreement and does not correspond to its actual context, FYROM's government spokesman Mile Bosnjakovski said on Wednesday.

The name deal reached between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) will eliminate irredentist pretensions in Skopje, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias said Wednesday.

A historic deal ending a decades-long dispute between neighbors Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) over the latter's name met with mixed reactions in both countries Wednesday, with some welcoming the agreement and others horrified at what they see as unacceptable concessions.

The center-left grouping Movement for Change (KINAL) said it would wait for the full text of the agreement before taking an official position on the name deal announced Tuesday by governments in Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Nicosia has welcomed an agreement between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) on the name issue announced Tuesday.

In comments to state broadcaster RIK, government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou described it as an "important deal" that is expected to generate many "national gains" for Greece.

The prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is trying to prepare his country's political leadership and society to accept the compromise that has been achieved over the name dispute with Greece. It is difficult for anyone to predict how things will turn out. Here in the Balkans, nothing is simple and straightforward.

Under the brassy stare of an equestrian Alexander the Great statue, 3,000 people gathered near the ancient Greek ruler's birthplace Wednesday to demand that Greece takes a tough stance with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in talks over the neighboring country's name.

It is unlikely that a solution will be found in ongoing name talks between Athens and Skopje on the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the head of the junior partner in Greece's coalition government said on Tuesday.

The aggressive rhetoric being exchanged by Greece and Turkey is full of perils, but the crisis between Athens and Ankara over the Aegean and Cyprus may in some odd way come to act as a catalyst for real progress on a series of ongoing issues in the Balkan neighborhood, foremost of which is the current effort to find a solution to the name dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (

Authorities in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) have begun replacing road signs on the country's main highway named by the previous government after the ancient warrior king Alexander the Great, in a goodwill gesture toward neighboring Greece.

Gajur Kadriu, head of FYROM's road maintenance company, said the first of 25 road signs were removed Wednesday.