18 June 2018 10:01 am
DPA, 17th JUNE, 2018-Greece and Macedonia signed a historic agreement to end their nearly three-decade-old dispute over the name Macedonia, paving the way for the former Yugoslav republic to join NATO and begin moving towards EU membership.
Foreign Ministers Nikos Kotzias of Greece and Nikola Dimitrov of Macedonia signed the document in Psarades, on the shore of Lake Prespa, which is divided between the two countries and Albania.
“This is a historic step,” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said at the ceremony in comments carried by local broadcasters. “Our countries are leaving the past behind and are looking to the future.”
“What a beautiful, glorious and historic day,” his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev said before the signing. Greece and Macedonia have been at odds over the latter’s name since Macedonia emerged from the disintegrating former Yugoslavia in 1991. Negotiations took place under UN auspices beginning in 1995.