U.N. notified of name change to North Macedonia

UNITED NATIONS (UPDATED) – The United Nations confirmed on Wednesday, February 13, that it has been officially informed by the Macedonian government that the country’s new name is North Macedonia.

At the United Nations, the country had been known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) because Greece objected to the use of Macedonia, the name used for its own northern region.

The 27-year-old dispute was finally settled in June during UN-brokered talks.

The new name came into force Tuesday, February 12, after constitutional changes were published in the Official Gazette and Skopje’s foreign ministry said both countries had informed the UN by letter that the change is now in force.

A UN official said a notice would be sent to the General Assembly and the Security Council to inform them of the change.

Since 1991, Athens had objected to its neighbor being called Macedonia because Greece has a historic northern province of the same name. Greece has blocked Macedonia’s NATO and EU integration until it changes the name. – Rappler.com