Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Greece has asked the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to purge history schoolbooks in the neighboring Baklan country of revisionist and irredentist elements, including misleading maps and references to ancient Greek civilization, the Athens-Macedonian news agency reports.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday that he will seek a vote of confidence if the leader of the junior coalition party, Panos Kammenos, withdraws his trust in the government due to objections over the Prespes name agreement with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will urge Greece to press on with tough economic reforms and maintain strict fiscal discipline when she visits Athens on Thursday for the first time in nearly five years.

Greece, Macedonia and Alexander the Great topped last year's most searched entries list out of a total of 358.8 million visits in Greek Wikipedia, according to data published by the local Wikimedia Community User Group on its website on Monday.

Amid mounting political upheaval over an expected vote in Skopje this week on the Prespes name deal, which has divided the Greek coalition, an MP for the junior coalition partner Independent Greeks (ANEL), Thanasis Papachristopoulos, indicated that he would not be averse to leaving the party.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's visit to Athens serves as a reminder that Berlin, and western governments in general, are keen to see Greek Parliament ratify the name deal reached with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

Amid intensive talks with party leaders to secure the parliamentary votes needed to ratify a contentious deal on the name dispute with Greece, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Friday sought to dampen concerns in Athens over the agreement.

The contentious name deal between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is expected to be ratified in FYROM's Parliament earlier than expected, possibly by January 10, meaning that the so-called Prespes agreement will come to Greece's House early too, likely triggering political developments.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday his country will be closer connected to Greece if the deal Athens signed with Skopje to resolve a long-standing dispute on the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is completed.

The constitutional issues' committee of the parliament in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Thursday approved further changes to the country's constitution as stipulated in the name deal reached with Greece in June.