The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia endorsed an agreement to resolve a long fight over the Macedonia name Sunday during a signing ceremony filled with history and symbolism.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, right and his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev, raise their hands during a signing agreement for Macedonia's new name in the village of Psarades, Prespes Greece, on Sunday, June 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
The Greek village of Psarades, located on the shores of Great Prespa Lake, was picked for the occasion since the borders of Greece and Macedonia meet in the water.
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The foreign ministers of Greece and Macedonia endorsed an agreement to resolve a long fight over the Macedonia name Sunday during a signing ceremony filled with history and symbolism.
The Greek village of Psarades, located on the shores of Great Prespa Lake, was picked for the occasion since the borders of Greece and Macedonia meet in the water.
Macedonians Zaev and Dimitrov arrived from across the lake on a small speedboat. Their Greek counterparts welcomed them with hugs on a jetty that was enlarged for the event.
Recalling his first meeting with Zaev this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tsipras told him, "Very few believed we would succeed" in ending "26 years of sterile dispute between our countries."
More than 4,000 Greek nationalists, who oppose another country having the Macedonia name, instead gathered near Pissoderi, a village 40 kilometers (25 miles) away. Banners in the crowd read "There is only one Macedonia and it is Greek" and "Macedonian identity can't be given away."
The two countries' prime ministers, Greece's Alexis Tsipras and Macedonia's Zoran Zaev, were there to see the deal they reached Tuesday get signed by their foreign ministers, Nikos Kotzias and Nikola Dimitrov, respectively.
Riot Police clash with protesting opponents of the deal between Greece and Macedonia on the latter country's new name _ North Macedonia _ at the village of Pisoderi, Prespes near the border with Macedonia in northern Greece, on Sunday, June 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Macedonians Zaev and Dimitrov arrived from across the lake on a small speedboat. Their Greek counterparts welcomed them with hugs on a jetty that was enlarged for the event.
Under the agreement, Greece's northern neighbor will be renamed North Macedonia to address longstanding appropriation concerns in Greece, which has a Macedonia province that was the birthplace of Alexander the Great.
Greece in return will suspend the objections that prevented Macedonia from joining NATO and the European Union.
The two countries' leaders said the signing would be the start of closer relations between them and an example for all nations in the Balkans region.
People protest against the deal between Greece and Macedonia on Macedonias new name, North Macedonia, in the southern Macedonia's town of Bitola on Sunday, June 17, 2018. Lawmakers voted 153-127 in the 300-member parliament against the motion brought by the conservative main opposition party over the deal to rename the former Yugoslav republic North Macedonia. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Recalling his first meeting with Zaev this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Tsipras told him, "Very few believed we would succeed" in ending "26 years of sterile dispute between our countries."
"This is our own appointment with history," Tsipras said, adding that Balkan peoples long have suffered from "the poison of chauvinism and the divisions of nationalist hatred."
Zaev, for his part, hailed an "end to decades of uncertainty." Greece and Macedonia would henceforth be "partners and allies" in modeling successful diplomacy for the whole region, he said.
"May we stay as united forever as we are on this day," Zaev said.
Following the signing, the officials took a boat to the Macedonian lake resort of Oteshevo for a celebratory lunch.
Police cordoned off all approaches to Psarades to prevent protesters from reaching the site. The agreement has aroused the fury of nationalists on both sides who claim, simultaneously, that it gave too much to the other side.
People protest against the deal between Greece and Macedonia on Macedonia's new name, North Macedonia, in the southern Macedonia town of Bitola on Sunday, June 17, 2018. Lawmakers voted 153-127 in the 300-member parliament against the motion brought by the conservative main opposition party over the deal to rename the former Yugoslav republic North Macedonia. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
More than 4,000 Greek nationalists, who oppose another country having the Macedonia name, instead gathered near Pissoderi, a village 40 kilometers (25 miles) away. Banners in the crowd read "There is only one Macedonia and it is Greek" and "Macedonian identity can't be given away."
Several hundred marched to a nearby police blockade and began throwing rocks. Police responded with tear gas and stun grenades. The clashes went on into the afternoon. Greek police said 12 people were injured, including six police officers.
Church bells in Psarades and nearby villages rang sorrowfully throughout the ceremony. Most of the village's 60 inhabitants watched from afar, clearly in a sour mood.
"The church bells rang mournfully because something died today in Greece," said local Orthodox Christian priest Irinaios Hajiefremidis. "They are taking from us our soul, our name."
Hajiefremidis noted the ethnic and religious conflicts that generations of Greeks, Serbs and Bulgarians fought over the land that makes up present-day Macedonia.
"Today, we commemorated Father George Papadopoulos, who was butchered on June 16, 1907 because he did not say Mass in Bulgarian," he said.
Feelings run as strongly in Macedonia, but there are wide differences of opinion.
"I didn't follow the signing. Follow what? The capitulation? The vanishing of my identity?" retired doctor Vera Jovanov said. "I didn't get their approval to be what I am. Nothing will be good in the future. Nothing good for Macedonia."
People protest against the deal between Greece and Macedonia on Macedonia's new name, North Macedonia, in the southern Macedonia town of Bitola on Sunday, June 17, 2018. Lawmakers voted 153-127 in the 300-member parliament against the motion brought by the conservative main opposition party over the deal to rename the former Yugoslav republic North Macedonia. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Taxi driver Devan Stojanoski said "whatever we are called," Macedonia's people need "a chance for a better life and better standards."
"I do not care about the name any more. I am so disappointed about everything that I have stopped thinking and caring," he said.
A demonstration against the deal attracted an estimated 3,000 people in the southern city of Bitola, Macedonian media reported.
The rally was peaceful, but opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski of the VMRO-DPMNE party, the keynote speaker, used fighting words. He reiterated that his party would not support putting the new name in the Macedonian constitution, one of the terms of the deal.
"I, Hristijan Mickoski, speaking from the heart and with a clear mind..., never, at any price, even if that would cost (my) life, will I support this act of capitulation by Zoran Zaev," Mickoski told the protesters.
A nighttime demonstration outside Macedonia's parliament in the capital of Skopje turned violent when a group of people described by police and media as soccer hooligans started pelting officers with rocks and flares and tried to break through the police cordon. Police used tear gas and stun grenades to beat back the crowd and detained one person. Seven police officers and three protesters were reported injured as the atmosphere remained tense late Sunday.
The signing ceremony was recognized internationally as a significant event. Among those attending were U.N. Under-Secretary for Political Affairs Rosemary di Carlo, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn.
The United Nations' mediator for the name dispute, Matthew Nimetz, also was on hand. Nimetz spent the last 24 years trying to mediate between Greece and Macedonia, first as an envoy of U.S. President Bill Clinton and then representing successive UN secretaries-general.
Nimetz congratulated Tsipras and Zaev, adding that they demonstrated "political courage and strategic vision" not often found. He received warm applause, not only for his often-frustrated effort to make the name dispute a thing of the past, but because Sunday was his 79th birthday Sunday.
Since Macedonia seceded from the former Yugoslavia in 1991, Greece had objected to its use of the name "Macedonia" because it claimed that implied territorial designs on its own northern province of Macedonia.
Greek objections delayed U.N. recognition of Macedonia until April 1993 and then only as The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). In 1995, the two countries signed an interim agreement after Macedonia agreed to modify its flag.
"I like to think positively and really hope this will be better. Finally, the agony ends and (membership in) EU and NATO will become real," Suzana Eftiska, an art curator in Macedonia, said.
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Citizens voted in North Macedonia on Wednesday in a parliamentary election and presidential runoff dominated by the country’s slow path toward European Union membership and its sluggish economy.
The conservative opposition appeared poised to make gains after a strong showing in the first round of presidential voting on April 24, threatening to oust the Social Democrats who have been in power for seven years.
In the first round, presidential challenger Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova won 41.2% of the vote, while incumbent Stevo Pendarovski, who is supported by the governing center-left coalition, garnered just 20.5%.
Polls closed Wednesday at 7 p.m. local time and preliminary results were expected early Thursday.
Victory for the 70-year-old Siljanovska-Davkova would make her the first woman to hold the largely ceremonial post since the country gained independence from the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
“I am ashamed that after 30 years we have a chance to have a woman for president and my question is, why is it so? Why tolerate this macho world?” she said after voting Wednesday in the capital, Skopje.
Turnout in the runoff must be at least 40% for the result to be valid and avoid a repeat election.
Pendarovski, 61, expressed confidence the threshold would be met.
In the parliamentary election, more than 1,700 candidates are vying for the 120 seats in the unicameral assembly.
The monthlong campaign focused on North Macedonia’s progress toward joining the 27-nation EU, the rule of law, corruption, fighting poverty and tackling the country’s flat economic growth.
“Yes, (I expect changes), because the current government did nothing,” he said. “But I don’t expect anything either from the new government,” Skopje voter Atanas Lovacev said. “They all make promises, but the result is nothing.”
Opinion polls had consistently shown the center-right opposition VMRO-DPMNE party, led by Hristijan Mickoski at the head of a 22-party coalition called “Your Macedonia,” with a double-digit lead over the coalition “For A European Future,” led by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, or SDSM.
“Mass turnout is a vote and a decision for the future of our families and the future of our homeland,” Mickoski said after voting in the capital.
SDSM leader Dimitar Kovachevski, who served as prime minister from 2022 until early this year, said Wednesday’s vote would “determine the future of the country for the next decade.”
“I expect the citizens to vote freely as befits a NATO member country and a country that has opened negotiations with the EU, and I expect them to make a decision that will ensure a secure and prosperous future,” he said.
Two coalitions in the running represent the country’s ethnic Albanian minority, which accounts for a quarter of North Macedonia’s population.
North Macedonia’s path to the EU is being blocked by neighboring Bulgaria, which demands that the constitution be amended to recognize a Bulgarian minority. And while the center-left has agreed to the demand, VMRO-DPMNE called it a “capitulation.”
North Macedonia has been a candidate to join the EU since 2005, but was blocked for years by neighboring Greece in a dispute over the country’s name. That was resolved in 2018, but Bulgaria is now the one blocking the process and has said it will only lift its veto once the constitution is amended.
Skopje resident Gordana Gerasimovski said she was disappointed the country had been waiting for so long to join the EU, but hoped for real progress now.
“We should have been part of European Union long time ago,” she said. “This is what we are lacking, but we hope that the time will get us where we want to be for so long.”
More than 2,300 domestic and international observers were scheduled to monitor the election, according to the State Electoral Commission.
Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, presidential candidate backed by the opposition center-right VMRO-DPMNE party, waves as she leaves from a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia were casting ballots on Wednesday in a parliamentary election and a presidential runoff dominated by issues including the country's path toward European Union membership, corruption and the economy. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Hristijan Mickoski, the leader of the opposition center-right VMRO-DPMNE party, makes statements at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia were casting ballots on Wednesday in a parliamentary election and a presidential runoff dominated by issues including the country's path toward European Union membership, corruption and the economy. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Dimitar Kovacevski, the leader of the ruling Social-Democrats (SDSM), makes statements after voting at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Dimitar Kovacevski, the leader of the ruling Social-Democrats (SDSM), casts his ballots at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A woman casts her ballots during the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling stationin Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, presidential candidate backed by the opposition center-right VMRO-DPMNE party, casts her ballot at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia were casting ballots on Wednesday in a parliamentary election and a presidential runoff dominated by issues including the country's path toward European Union membership, corruption and the economy. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Hristijan Mickoski, the leader of the opposition center-right VMRO-DPMNE party, casts his ballots at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia were casting ballots on Wednesday in a parliamentary election and a presidential runoff dominated by issues including the country's path toward European Union membership, corruption and the economy. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Dimitar Kovacevski, the leader of the ruling Social-Democrats (SDSM), casts his ballots at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
An electoral official gives a ballot to a voter during the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A woman casts her ballots during the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling stationin Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia were casting ballots on Wednesday in a parliamentary election and a presidential runoff dominated by issues including the country's path toward European Union membership, corruption and the economy. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A man casts his ballots during the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A girl casts the ballot of an adult during the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A voter uses a finger print machine to confirm her ID before casting her ballots for the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
An electoral official stamps the ballots during the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A woman enters a polling station to cast her ballots for the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A woman casts her ballots for the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A woman casts her ballots for the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A man casts his ballots for the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A cat stands under ballot boxes during the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A woman casts her ballots for the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A woman casts her ballots for the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A woman casts her ballots for the parliamentary election and the presidential runoff, at a polling station in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. Voters in North Macedonia go to the polls Wednesday for a double election — parliamentary and presidential — following a campaign in which the country's aspirations to join the European Union have played a central role. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
People walk under the election posters of Dimitar Kovacevski, the leader of the ruling Social-Democrats (SDSM), center right and their ruling partner Ali Ahmet, the leader of the ethnic Albanian party DUI, center left, in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Monday, May 6, 2024. Voters go to the polls on Wednesday in North Macedonia to cast ballots for parliamentary election and presidential runoff, for the second time in two weeks. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A giant poster of Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, the presidential candidate supported by the center-right main opposition VMRO-DPMNE coalition, hanging on a building in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Monday, May 6, 2024. Voters go to the polls on Wednesday in North Macedonia to cast ballots for parliamentary election and presidential runoff, for the second time in two weeks. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A man feeds pigeons near an electoral poster of Izet Mexhiti from the ethnic Albanian opposition party VLEN, in a street in Skopje, North Macedonia, on Monday, May 6, 2024. Voters go to the polls on Wednesday in North Macedonia to cast ballots for parliamentary election and presidential runoff, for the second time in two weeks. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
A woman and a girl ride bicycles by Vardar river in downtown Skopje, North Macedonia, on Monday, May 6, 2024. Voters go to the polls on Wednesday in North Macedonia to cast ballots for parliamentary election and presidential runoff, for the second time in two weeks. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
