The dispute over Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia‘s official name proved to be a small thorn in this year’s United Nations General Assembly annual General Debate.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who is currently in New York, has opted to skip the United Nations General Assembly sessions that centred around the issue of extremism, organized by the United States President Barack Obama. According to Greek media reports, one of the main causes was that the United States government denied Greece’s request that FYROM attend the session using the name FYROM and not the name Republic of Macedonia.
The other reported reason why Tsipras chose to pass on this particular session is that the Greek Prime Minister would not be able to speak during the session and express Greece’s opinion on the matter.
Greece and FYROM have been unable to come to an agreement on the latter’s official name. The United States has recognized the Republic of Macedonia as the state’s official name since November 2004. This naming dispute extends beyond the two countries. A host of nations including China, the United Kingdom and Russia have also recognized Republic of Macedonia name, while several others including Australia, France and Germany recognize FYROM as the official title.
