Zaev agreed with Americans on the new name for Macedonia: Here are all the possible names

Behind the scenes of the Summit of Leaders of the Adriatic Charter in Podgorica, the Macedonian Prime Minister and the US delegation agreed on a new name for Macedonia in order to join NATO as soon as possible. Zoran Zaev also asked the Americans to support the referendum on changing the name because he fears the riots.

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Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev presented yesterday at the Summit in Podgorica a plan to change the name of Macedonia behind closed doors to the US Vice President Mike Pence, Sputnik learns from a source close to the Macedonian delegation.

Zaev has presented several proposals to Pence for the new name of Macedonia, and the Republic of Macedonia could be called in the future "Upper Macedonia", "Northern Macedonia", or "Republic of Macedonia (Skopje)".

As it turns out, Pence informed Zaev that the Greeks, who have blocked Macedonia so far on their way to the EU and on their way to NATO, agreed with the proposed proposals. Zaev allegedly asked Pence for assistance in implementing the plan because the citizens of Macedonia are decisively against the change of the name of the state, even though the Republic of Macedonia is recognized as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in the international system.

Aleksandar Mitevski from the Center for Research and Analysis in Skopje told Sputnik that the news also went through Macedonia, but he was unable to confirm or deny it.

Foto: Tanjug/AP

- I would not be surprised that this is true because this story fits into the Reform Program announced by Zaev, which is already being implemented. Reforms called "3-6-9" are the first step towards a serious breakthrough of Macedonia towards full membership in Euro-Atlantic integration. The first part of this reform, which lasts three months, relates to the change of the name of the state of Macedonia, about which Zaev has already spoken to the leaders of the region, from Edi Rama, to Denis Zvizdic, seeking support.

Recently signed agreement on the normalization of relations with Bulgaria, which has not yet recognized Macedonia under its constitutional name - the Republic of Macedonia, is a sign that things are moving towards that direction, - he says.

He recalls that changing the name of the state requires a change in the Constitution, which implies two-thirds support in the Parliament. Zaev, Mitevski recalls, announced that the issue of changing the name will be put on a referendum, which is not viewed favorably in Macedonia "because we have bad experiences with this way of expressing democracy".

Foto: Tanjug/AP

- If the referendum is held under all the rules and without fraud, it will not pass for sure. The problem is that it is almost certain that there will be cheating on the referendum - claims Mitevski.

Zaev openly said in Podgorica that he expects America to help resolve all problems in order for Macedonia to find itself in the EU and NATO as soon as possible.

The Macedonian prime minister recently discussed the issue with Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, who proposed that Macedonia should be called "Upper Macedonia" in the future because of Albanians from Albania, most of them, said that when speaking of Macedonia, say "the upper one".

Macedonia has not been able to enter either NATO or the EU for ten years because Athens wants Macedonia to change its name, believing that it belongs to Greece, Sputnik writes.

Foto: Profimedia/AFP

The pressure on Macedonia to change its name is so strong that it reflects on all spheres of life, even on sports. Yesterday, the women's cadet handball representation of Greece was thrown out of the European Championship in Skopje after the Greek players left the court in a 32nd second of the match against Macedonia, unhappy because there was Macedonia written on the jerseys of domestic players, instead of FYROM.

The European Handball Federation (EHF) has penalized the Greek team additionally with 25,000 euros. The young Greek handball players did not want to start the match against the Macedonia, but after convincing of the EHF they went out to the field, and the coaching staff immediately retreated from the field.

(Telegraf.co.uk / Sputnjik / Brankica Ristic)