This was no ordinary meal – either for Yiannis Boutaris, Thessaloniki’s mayor or his guest Zoran Zaev, prime minister of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. In Athens, “republic of Macedonia” is unacceptable because it is seen as implying irredentist ambitions against the adjacent Greek province, which bears the same name. On both sides there are those who argue fervently that as exclusive heirs to Alexander’s legacy, Macedonia belongs to them. “I give up the claim of Macedonia being the sole heir to Alexander. For the most part, Greeks insist on calling the country the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Fyrom) and its two million population “Skopjian”.

Source: The Guardian December 31, 2017 00:00 UTC