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Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras applauds after the vote on the Prespa Agreement, changing the name of Macedonia to Republic of North Macedonia, to the Greek Parliament in Athens on 25 January 2018. ANGELOS TZORTZINIS / AFP

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will now be called Northern Macedonia, for the Greeks as well. The Greek Parliament has ratified by 153 votes out of 300 the Prespes agreement signed in June 2018. After nearly 30 years of disputes, this vote should help normalize relations with this country, created during the fall of Yugoslavia but the debates, which lasted three days, were heated.

With our correspondent in Athens, Charlotte Stiévenard

During the debate, opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis reiterated his opposition to the use of the term Macedonia to qualify the neighboring country. The leader of the Conservative Party of New Democracy has implied that if elected, he would continue the same strategy applied by Greece so far: " Greece could at any time veto the integration of the Skopiots in the European Union and this right, I refuse to ban it. "

For 28 years, the Greeks have refused to talk about Macedonians : the inhabitants of the Greek region prefer Skopiotes, named after the capital Skopje. What is at stake with the ratification of the agreement on the name of this country is the end of the Greek veto on entering the EU and NATO .

For Alexis Tsipras , this is a step forward: " The truth is that the inertia, clumsiness and procrastination that had become a doctrine of foreign policy for years had resulted - and continued to lead - to diplomatic defeats. permanent and durable on the Greek side. "

He recalled that nearly 130 countries in the world already recognized the constitutional name of this country, which will now be called Macedonia North.

North Macedonia was born today. It will be a friend and an ally of Greece in its efforts for security, stability and mutual development in the region.

Alexis Tsipras (@tsipras_eu) 25 January 2019