Macedonia has draft agreement with Greece on republic’s name – PM

The Macedonian authorities have prepared a draft international agreement or treaty with Greece regarding a dispute over the name of the former Yugoslav Republic, according to Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. Dignity and identity are indispensable parts of the negotiations with Greece, MIA news agency quoted Zaev as saying on Wednesday. The agreement “hopefully in the end will be ratified by the parliaments,” the PM said. The negotiation process is brokered by the United Nations. The issue is preventing Macedonia from joining NATO and the EU. Athens is demanding that the neighboring republic change its name to avoid confusion with the Greek region of Macedonia.