Draft:Macedonian name change referendum

Former conservative prime minister Antonis Samaras lambasted Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday over the agreement signed between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) last June to resolve a long-standing dispute on the latter's name, saying it opens the door for more claims by the neighboring country.

The spokesman for the government of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia has reiterated the Balkan country's commitment to implementing a historic name deal signed with Greece in June, following frustration in Athens over recent comments by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.

AFP - Macedonian voters backed a plan to rename the country aimed at ending a decades-long spat with Greece and unlocking a path to NATO and EU membership, with the West welcoming the result although the referendum was marred by low turnout.

AFP - Macedonians went to the polls Sunday to vote on whether to re-name their country North Macedonia in a bid to settle a long-running row with Greece and unlock its path to NATO and EU membership.

Macedonia has struggled for recognition of its name since its birth in 1991 when the landlocked country declared independence from Yugoslavia.

The Prime Minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Zoran Zaev, expressed hope the country's citizens will vote in favour of the name deal achieved with Greece in the upcoming referendum on September 30, saying it is time for the country's "isolation" to end.

US Vice President Mike Pence conveyed his support of the Prespa Agreement between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), during a meeting in Washington with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on Thursday.

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) has waited a long time for an opportunity to join the European Union and NATO, the country's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said in his first ever a speech at the European Parliament on Thursday.

"This is an opportunity that we have waited for a long time," he told MEPs.

The ʽMacedonianʼ language and national identity remain undisputed, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) Prime Minister Zoran Zaev told an event ahead of the September 30 referendum on the country's name deal with Greece.

The prime minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is urging his countrymen to vote in an upcoming referendum in favor of a deal with neighboring Greece that changes his country's name to "North Macedonia."

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, speaking in the capital of Skopje on Tuesday, said the Sept. 30 referendum is an opportunity for people to make a "historic decision."

Lawmakers in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) will vote on a government's proposal setting down details for a referendum over a deal with neighboring Greece to change the country's name to Republic of North Macedonia.