Alexander the Great haunts Macedonia’s NATO bid
Published 28 March, 2008, 06:50
NATO meets in Bucharest next week, and the issue of enlargement will be on the table. Albania and Croatia are hoping to be among the newest members. Macedonia is also hopeful of joining up, but Greece says it has to change its name first.
The naming dispute dates back half a century when the People's Republic of Macedonia was formed as part of a newborn state of Yugoslavia.
Greece says the name belongs to its second-largest region of Macedonia – the birthplace of Alexander the Great.
The position remained more or less the same after the region became independent in 1991. It insists the word “Macedonia” cannot be used in the country’s name, as it offends the Greek and implies territorial claims.
Greece has been blocking international recognition of the former Yugoslavian republic. Its future in NATO will also be vetoed by Athens.
The name debate is not the only thing that matters though.
“What’s really at stake is American interests in Macedonia. They have a military base in Kosovo and are now building their biggest embassy in the Balkans here in Skopje. They are interested in oil from Macedonia and in alternative solutions for their nuclear ambitions,” explains Aleksandr Chomovski, editor at a private Macedonian TV station.
With less than a week before the NATO summit, the government is caught up in a political crisis, as an Albanian coalition partner left. They were insisting Macedonia must recognise the independence of bordering Kosovo as soon as possible.
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