The US Congress and the name deal

In 2008, in a video sent around the world by the Pan-Macedonian Association of America, then president Nina Gatzoulis thanked about-to-be-elected Barack Obama for his original co-sponsorship of Senate Resolution 300 (S.Res.300) in the 110th Congress. S.Res. 300, authored by Senator Robert Menendez, became the basis for Greek-American advocacy on the Macedonian issue since then.

Senator Menendez held up the confirmation of president George W. Bush's last ambassador to Skopje (which the Bush administration had already recognized as "Republic of Macedonia") until it was agreed that he would present S.Res. 300 upon assuming his post. S.Res. 300 became the basis for fighting back congressional initiatives (legislation and letters) that supported Skopje's accession to NATO.

It was used to help block the attempts to put Skopje on the agenda at the 2012 NATO Summit in...

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