The Macedonian government of Zoran Zaev has declared that it will refuse to stick to the acronym FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) as its official name, stating that the name has nothing to do with the Macedonian language and looks more like a sci-fi name.
In a press conference in Brussels together with EU officials, Minister of Foreign of Affairs Nikola Dimitrov stated:
When you say FYROM instead of Macedonia, it has as much relation to my country as Klingons in Star Trek.
While he refused another compromise offered by Greece, Minister Dimitrov implied that another compromise would be possible:
We need to find a way in which the countries can move on with their heads up high. I think that it is possible. We need to take the necessary steps at the right time.
Since its independence in the 1990s after the breakup of former Yugoslavia, the name of Macedonia has caused problems with the neighboring state of Greece. The EU country insists that the name Macedonia should only be used for the northern region of Greece. As a result, Greece has been blocking the attempts of Macedonia to join NATO.
