IBNA | Originally published on November 13, 2017
Nikos Kotzias, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece withNikola Dimitrov, Minister of Foreign affairs of FYROM
Picture credit: IBNA
Diplomats in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) have proposed the renaming of Skopje's airport from "Alexander the Great" to "Kiro Gligorov" (the former first president of FYROM), an idea that seems to be accepted by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev despite the strong objections expressed by Nikola Gruevski's main opposition party VMRO-DPMNE.
In particular, Skopje's "Diplomatic Club" said last Friday (November 10th) that it supported initiatives for the renaming of Skopje's airport and proposed the name of the country's first President.
The Skopje Diplomatic Club, in a related statement, went on to say that the renaming of Skopje airport to "Kiro Gligorov" will depict in the most dignified way the appreciation of the important role played by the late president of the country in the process of establishing the modern state of FYROM and will indelibly seal the collective memory of its citizens.
The "Skopje Diplomatic Club" is a group that consists mainly of former and active diplomats of FYROM and aims to "promote the professional and social life of diplomats in Skopje". Members of the former diplomatic service of FYROM, as well as foreign diplomats currently serving or having served in Skopje, have the right to participate as members.
Zaev in favour, Gruevski against
The Prime Minister of FYROM Zoran Zaev, responding to a question regarding the renaming of the airport, said he sees the idea of renaming the airport to "Kiro Gligorov" as acceptable in principle.
"At first sight I like this idea. But I am only one of the citizens of the country. I want to listen carefully to all citizens. Let's start a debate and we will hear what the citizens will say", Zaev said.
For their part, the right-wing nationalist party VMRO-DPMNE has opposed the renaming of Skopje airport and noted that "when they come back to power they will cancel and restore everything that Zaev and his government are tearing down".
VMRO-DPMNE in their press statement further accused Zoran Zaev and his government of "undermining national interests" in FYROM and noted that "the intention to rename Skopje's airport is the latest of a series of concessions made by Zaev against the country".
Skopje's airport which was previously known as the "Petrovice", was renamed in December 2016, by Nikola Gruevski's government at that time to "Alexander the Great Airport" - a name that infuriated Greece.
At the airport, a statue of Alexander the Great was also installed by the Turkish company TAV which manages Skopje's airport.
Thoughts for a change of name
Recently, Zaev, speaking to Montenegro's Antenna M radio station, appeared ready to discuss a name change for his country to reach an agreement with Greece in order to begin NATO and European Union accession processes.
As the prime minister of FYROM said, his desire is for good neighbourly relations with Greece, which, in order to be achieved, must include an agreement on the name issue.
"It is important to focus on the problem that Greece has with our constitutional name. I believe that there will be a solution and a way to come up with the new name. In the end, what is important for us is to find a solution for the name, because not only will we receive a call for NATO membership but also we will be able to start negotiations with the European Union", the Prime Minister of FYROM stated. He further underlined, the invitation to join NATO is an incentive to find a "common language" with Greece.
Source: IBNA
In particular, Skopje's "Diplomatic Club" said last Friday (November 10th) that it supported initiatives for the renaming of Skopje's airport and proposed the name of the country's first President.
The Skopje Diplomatic Club, in a related statement, went on to say that the renaming of Skopje airport to "Kiro Gligorov" will depict in the most dignified way the appreciation of the important role played by the late president of the country in the process of establishing the modern state of FYROM and will indelibly seal the collective memory of its citizens.
The "Skopje Diplomatic Club" is a group that consists mainly of former and active diplomats of FYROM and aims to "promote the professional and social life of diplomats in Skopje". Members of the former diplomatic service of FYROM, as well as foreign diplomats currently serving or having served in Skopje, have the right to participate as members.
Zaev in favour, Gruevski against
The Prime Minister of FYROM Zoran Zaev, responding to a question regarding the renaming of the airport, said he sees the idea of renaming the airport to "Kiro Gligorov" as acceptable in principle.
"At first sight I like this idea. But I am only one of the citizens of the country. I want to listen carefully to all citizens. Let's start a debate and we will hear what the citizens will say", Zaev said.
For their part, the right-wing nationalist party VMRO-DPMNE has opposed the renaming of Skopje airport and noted that "when they come back to power they will cancel and restore everything that Zaev and his government are tearing down".
VMRO-DPMNE in their press statement further accused Zoran Zaev and his government of "undermining national interests" in FYROM and noted that "the intention to rename Skopje's airport is the latest of a series of concessions made by Zaev against the country".
Skopje's airport which was previously known as the "Petrovice", was renamed in December 2016, by Nikola Gruevski's government at that time to "Alexander the Great Airport" - a name that infuriated Greece.
At the airport, a statue of Alexander the Great was also installed by the Turkish company TAV which manages Skopje's airport.
Thoughts for a change of name
Recently, Zaev, speaking to Montenegro's Antenna M radio station, appeared ready to discuss a name change for his country to reach an agreement with Greece in order to begin NATO and European Union accession processes.
As the prime minister of FYROM said, his desire is for good neighbourly relations with Greece, which, in order to be achieved, must include an agreement on the name issue.
"It is important to focus on the problem that Greece has with our constitutional name. I believe that there will be a solution and a way to come up with the new name. In the end, what is important for us is to find a solution for the name, because not only will we receive a call for NATO membership but also we will be able to start negotiations with the European Union", the Prime Minister of FYROM stated. He further underlined, the invitation to join NATO is an incentive to find a "common language" with Greece.
Source: IBNA
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