SKOPJE (Macedonia), July 5 (SeeNews) – Macedonia's parliament ratified in a second vote the agreement with Greece to resolve the 27-year old dispute between the two neighouring countries by changing the name of the former Yugoslav republic to North Macedonia, data published on the parliament's website showed.
The agreement was ratified by 70 votes in the 120-seat parliament, the results of the vote published on the parliament's website showed.
Parliament ratified the agreement envisaging a change of the country's name to North Macedonia for the first time on June 20. However, Macedonian president Gjorge Ivanov refused to sign it into law, saying it runs against the Constitution and its ratification was not carried out in accordance with the constitution.
In order for the agreement to enter into force, it must also be ratified by the Greek parliament. In addition, Macedonia will also hold a referendum on the deal in the autumn of 2018, Macedonian prime minister Zoran Zaev said in June.
The deal was signed on June 17 by the foreign ministers of Macedonia and Greece Nikola Dimitrov and Nikos Kotzias, paving the way for the former Yugoslav republic to join NATO and the European Union under its new name of North Macedonia. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Zaev, Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras and senior representatives of the European Commission.
On June 29, NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said he expects the heads of state and government of the countries of the Alliance will invite Macedonia to start accession talks in July.
However, without the finalisation of the agreement with Greece on the name issue, Macedonia cannot join NATO in the foreseeable future, Stoltenberg said, following a meeting with Zaev.
Athens has blocked Macedonia’s attempts to join NATO and the EU over the country's name, which according to Greece allegedly implies territorial clams on the Greek northernmost province of the same name.