Thousands of Greeks protest in Macedonia name dispute

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Europe

Tens of thousands of Greeks staged a mass rally in Athens on Sunday, urging the government not to compromise in a festering name row with neighboring Macedonia.

Organizers claimed some 1.5 million people from across Greece and the Greek diaspora turned out to express their opposition to attempts by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government to broker a deal. But police put the figure at around 140,000.

Tsipras said in a statement later that the majority of Greek people believe "foreign policy issues should not be dealt with fanaticism."

"The million protesters that the organizers imagined was wishful thinking," he said.

The Macedonia name dispute has remained unresolved since the former Yugoslav republic's independence in 1991.

Greece considers the name "Macedonia" to be part of its own cultural heritage, as the province was the core of Alexander the Great's ancient empire.

People take to the streets to urge the government not to compromise in the festering name row with neighboring Macedonia, Athens, Feb. 4, 2018. /VCG Photo

Athens seeks guarantees that the use of the name by its neighbor implies no claim to parts of its own territory.

And it says it is ready to accept a composite name that will establish a clear distinction from Greek Macedonia.

"The government is trying to give a patriotic solution to a problem that has troubled the country, its international relations and its diplomacy for over 25 years," government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said Sunday.

"Not having a solution undermines our national interest," Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said last week.

Greece has been threatening to block Macedonia to join the EU and NATO.

It also blocked the European's poorest country joining the United Nations in 1993 as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

(CGTN's Filio Kontrafouri also contributed to the story.)

Source(s): AFP