Macedonia puts the country's new name into effect

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Macedonia on Monday officially became the Republic of North Macedonia.

In the early hours of Monday, the old sign, Republic of Macedonia, was removed from the government building in the capital, Skopje, and replaced with the new name.

The country is removing all the old signs from institutions and border crossing points.

Macedonian parliament in June 2018 approved a constitutional amendment to change the country's name.

In June 2018, Greece and Macedonia inked the Prespes agreement, which requires Macedonia to change its name and for Greece to drop its objection to Macedonia joining NATO and becoming a member of the European Union.

The name issue has kept Macedonia from joining the EU and NATO since its independence in 1991.

Macedonia's international recognition was finalized in April 1993, when the country was unanimously adopted as a member of the UN General Assembly, but was admitted as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) due to pressure by Greece.

Authorities in Skopje will inform the UN and all regional and international organizations that the Prespes agreement has taken effect.