SKOPJE (Macedonia), February 6 (SeeNews) – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said on Wednesday its member states signed an accession protocol with Macedonia, following a historic agreement between Skopje and Athens to change the name of the former Yugoslav republic.
"We are here and we are ready to assume our responsibilities," Macedonia's foreign minister Nikola Dimitrov said before the signing ceremony at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
On February 1 the Greek parliament ratified the agreement with Skopje to rename the former Yugoslav republic to North Macedonia, thus unblocking the path for the country to join NATO and the EU.
Last month, Macedonia's parliament endorsed four amendments to the constitution on renaming the country to North Macedonia, delivering on Skopje's commitments under the agreement.
On October 18, NATO launched formal accession talks with Macedonia.
Athens has blocked Macedonia’s attempts to join NATO and the EU for 27 years over the country's name. According to Greece, the name Republic of Macedonia implies territorial claims on the Greek northernmost province of the same name.
Macedonia and Greece signed the agreement on the name change in June.