Russia's Foreign Ministry on Monday strongly criticized a decision by Macedonia’s parliament to rename the country Republic of North Macedonia.
In a statement, the ministry called the vote on the constitutional amendment "a demonstration of an externally imposed process of artificial redrawing of the state name in order to force the involvement of Skopje” in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
"It is obvious that such a method of resolving issues of national importance for the future of the country is not a reflection of the will of its people and cannot serve as a tool for a long-term settlement of the problem of state naming," the statement said.
In June, the Macedonian and Greek governments signed the Prespa Agreement, which required Macedonia to change its name to Republic of North Macedonia and Greece to drop its objection to Macedonia joining NATO and becoming a member of the European Union (EU).
Greece, a member of both NATO and the EU, has long opposed Macedonia's official name, as it has a province called Macedonia in the north of the country.
The name issue has kept Macedonia from joining the EU and NATO since its independence in 1991.
Macedonia's international recognition was finalized in April 1993, when the country was unanimously adopted as a member of the UN General Assembly, but it was admitted as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) due to pressure from Greece.
Despite the dispute between Athens and Skopje, many countries, including Turkey, recognize the country as Macedonia.
Greece called on its international partners and Russia to respect the Prespa Agreement.
“Our international partners are called upon to respect the spirit and the letter of the Agreement and to welcome the fact that the political of the two countries have demonstrated the necessary political courage to reach a solution to a particularly thorny issue while, at the same time, defending their national interests,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The agreement was made by two independent countries under the auspices of the United Nations and it will contribute toward peace and stability in the Balkans, it added.
Greece also urged Russia to avoid making similar statements in the future, which would constitute a clear intervention in Greece’s internal affairs.
