Member states of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie

Britain's foreign secretary has congratulated Greek lawmakers for accepting a deal to resolve the protracted disagreement over the use of the name Macedonia.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt described the Greek parliament's ratification of the agreement on Friday as a "historic moment bringing a decades-old dispute close to an end."

The Council of Europe (CoE) was the latest EU body on Friday afternoon to congratulate Greece for approving the Prespes accord that promises to bring an end to the 27-year dispute over the name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras celebrates after a voting session on the Prespa Agreement, an agreement aimed at ending a 27-year bilateral row by changing the name of Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia, at the Greek Parliament on Jan. 25. (Photo by Angelos Tzortzinis / AFP)

Greece's parliament on Friday ratified a landmark accord that changes the name of neighbouring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), ending a decades-old dispute and opening the way for the ex-Yugoslav republic to join the European Union and NATO.

A group of protesters opposed to Greece's name deal with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia spray-painted a slogan outside the home of US Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt in Athens on Thursday night.

Stavros Theodorakis, leader of To Potami centrists, on Thursday said Greece should endorse a name deal with neighboring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) or risk being alienated from its western partners.

Members of the Greek Communist Party on Thursday unfurled two banners over the walls of the Acropolis Hill with slogans against the name deal signed between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), which is being discussed in Parliament.

Greek lawmakers began the final steps on Wednesday toward ratifying an historic accord on a name-change for neighboring Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), as a bitter row rumbled with opponents who say it harms Greece's national identity.

UrduPoint News / Sputnik The Pan-Macedonian Confederation has announced rallies, starting Thursday, against Greece's deal with Macedonia to change the Balkan nation's name.

A debate on the pact that will rename the neighboring state to the Republic of North Macedonia will begin in parliament on Wednesday and conclude with a vote on Thursday evening.

In the Greek Parliament, the ratification procedures of the Prespa agreement with Skopje are underway.

Police fired tear gas to disperse protesters outside parliament on Sunday (20 January) as tens of thousands of Greeks rallied in Athens to protest ahead of a parliamentary vote to ratify a name deal with Macedonia due this week, reported Euroactive.