Foreign relations of the Republic of Macedonia
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The foreign relations of North Macedonia since its
independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
in 1991 have been characterized by the country's efforts to gain membership in international organizations such as
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and to gain international recognition under its constitutional name, overshadowed by a long-standing, dead-locked
dispute Dispute may refer to: * an act of physical violence; combat * Controversy ** Lawsuit ** Dispute resolution * Dispute (credit card) * ''La Dispute'', a 1744 prose comedy by Pierre de Marivaux * La Dispute (band) La Dispute is an American pos ...
with neighboring Greece. Greek objections to the country's name have led to it being admitted to the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
and several other international fora only under the provisional designation ''Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia''.


Diplomatic relations

North Macedonia became a member state of the United Nations on April 8, 1993, eighteen months after its independence from the former
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
. It was referred within the UN as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", pending a resolution, to the long-running dispute about the country's name. Unusually, the country's flag was not raised at UN Headquarters when the state joined the UN.Article on Former Yugoslav states
It was not until after the country's flag was changed that it was raised at the UN Headquarters. Other international bodies, such as the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
,
European Broadcasting Union The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
, and the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
had adopted the same naming convention.
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
also used that name in official documents but added an explanation on which member countries recognise the constitutional name. All
UN member states The United Nations member states are the sovereign states that are members of the United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the United Nations General Assembly, UN General Assembly. The UN is the world's largest international o ...
currently recognise North Macedonia as a sovereign state. A number of countries recognised the country by its former constitutional name – the Republic of Macedonia – rather than the UN reference, notably four of the five permanent
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...
members (the United Kingdom, the United States,


List of countries


Bilateral relations


Africa


Americas


Asia


Europe


Oceania


Issues


Flag issue

North Macedonia's first post-independence flag caused a major controversy when it was unveiled. The use of the Vergina Sun on the flag was seen by Greece as territorial claim to the northern Greek region of
Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...
, where the golden larnax containing the symbol was unearthed in 1977 during excavations in Vergina by Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos. The Greek viewpoint was summed up in an FAQ circulated on the Internet in the late 1990s: The Vergina Sun, claimed by Greece as an exclusive state symbol, was removed from the flag under an agreement reached between the Republic of North Macedonia and Greece in September 1995. The Republic agreed to meet a number of Greek demands for changes to its national symbols and constitution, while Greece agreed to establish diplomatic relations with the Republic and end its economic blockade. As of 2019, under the Prespa Agreement, North Macedonia recognises (among other Ancient Macedonian elements) the Vergina Sun as a Hellenic symbol and agrees to remove from all display the Vergina Sun in all State-owned organisations, products, logos, etc. The implementation of this clause started on August 12, 2019.
Within six months following the entry into force of this Agreement, the Second Party .e. North Macedoniashall review the status of monuments, public buildings and infrastructures on its territory, and insofar as they refer in any way to ancient Hellenic history and civilization constituting an integral component of the historic or cultural patrimony of the First Party, shall take appropriate corrective action to effectively address the issue and ensure respect for the said patrimony.—Article 8, paragraph 2 of the Prespa agreement
The Second Party .e. North Macedoniashall not use again in any way and in all its forms the symbol formerly displayed on its former national flag .e. the Vergina Sun Within six months of the entry into force of this Agreement, the Second Party shall proceed to the removal of the symbol displayed on its former national flag from all public sites and public usages on its territory. Archaeological artefacts do not fall within the scope of this provision.—Article 8, paragraph 3 of the Prespa agreement


Constitutional issue

North Macedonia's first post-independence constitution, adopted on November 17, 1991 included a number of clauses that Greece interpreted as promoting secessionist sentiment among the Slavophone population of northern Greece, and making irredentist claims on Greek territory. Article 49 of the constitution caused particular concern. It read: :''(1) The Republic cares for the status and rights of those persons belonging to the Macedonian people in neighboring countries, as well as Macedonian expatriates, assists their cultural development and promotes links with them. In the exercise of this concern the Republic will not interfere in the sovereign rights of other states or in their internal affairs.'' :''(2) The Republic cares for the cultural, economic and social rights of the citizens of the Republic abroad.'' The Greek government interpreted this as a licence for North Macedonia to interfere in Greek internal affairs. Given long-standing Greek sensitivities over the position of the country's minority groups, the government saw this as being the most serious of the three main issues affecting relations between the two countries; the issue of the republic's symbols, by contrast, was seen as being of much less substantive importance, even though it aroused the loudest political controversy. The Greek prime minister at the time, Constantine Mitsotakis, later commented that :''What concerned me from the very first moment was not the name of the state. The problem for me was that e should not allowthe creation of a second minority problem in the area of western
reek Reek may refer to: Places * Reek, Netherlands, a village in the Dutch province of North Brabant * Croagh Patrick, a mountain in the west of Ireland nicknamed "The Reek" People * Nikolai Reek (1890-1942), Estonian military commander * Salme Reek ( ...
Macedonia he first minority being the Turkish-speaking Greeks of western Thrace My main aim was to convince the Republic to declare that there is no Slavomacedonian minority in Greece. This was the real key of our difference with Skopje.''Constantine Mitsotakis, quoted in Tom Gallagher, ''The Balkans in the New Millennium: in the shadow of war and peace'', p. 6. Routledge, 2005. The offending articles were removed under the 1995 agreement between the two sides.


See also

*
List of diplomatic missions in North Macedonia This article lists diplomatic missions resident in North Macedonia. At present, the capital city of Skopje hosts 32 embassies. Several other countries have missions accredited from other capitals. Embassies in Skopje Gallery File:Albembs ...
*
List of diplomatic missions of North Macedonia This is a list of diplomatic missions of North Macedonia, excluding honorary consulates. Africa * ** Cairo (Embassy) Americas * ** Brasília (Embassy) * ** Ottawa (Embassy) ** Toronto (Consulate General) * ** Washington, D.C. (Embassy) ** Chica ...
*
List of state visits made by Gjorge Ivanov This is a list of state visits made by Gjorge Ivanov, the 4th President of Macedonia. List of State Visits State visits hosted in Macedonia by Gjorge Ivanov References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov Gjorge trips State visits by Macedonian le ...
* Passport of North Macedonia *
Foreign relations of Yugoslavia Foreign relations of Yugoslavia were international relations of the Interwar period, interwar Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Cold War Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. During its existence, the country was the founding member of numero ...


References

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External links


Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia
{{Foreign relations of Europe