Skopje to drop "Alexander the Great" from airport's name

Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Davos forum.

AFP reported that the first step in solving the 27-year-old name dispute between the two countries will be Skopje's decision to rename the capital's airport, and a highway - both of which currently bear the name of Alexander the Great.

"The highway will be called 'Friendship'. These activities are a demonstration of our good will. This is proof that we have no territorial aspirations towards our neighbor," Zaev said at a joint news conference Tsipras, after their meeting that lasted almost three hours, Beta reported.

Greece, Zaev added, will also demonstrate good will and allow Macedonia to strengthen its cooperation with the European Union and other international organizations.

According to him, Macedonia and Greece will "raise the level of their negotiation process" for solving the dispute around the name Macedonia, from the level of ambassadors to that of ministers, with continued U.N. mediation and under the patronage of the two prime ministers.

Zaev said the final solution to the 25-year long dispute about the constitutional name of Macedonia had to be acceptable to both sides, while Tsipras said the will existed for solving the dispute in a pragmatic, responsible way.