Syria uses Fyrom to get back at Greece over Israel ties

Below is a report from AFP, which reveals that the Syrian Arab Republic has recognised Fyrom as ‘Macedonia’. Clearly, this is some sort of retaliation for the developing relationship between Greece and Israel. Greece has been close to Syria, where there is a large Greek Orthodox community, which sees itself as part of the Byzantine ecumenae; but, it seems, times are changing.

SKOPJE — Syria has become the 129th country to recognise ‘Macedonia’ under its constitutional name ‘Republic of Macedonia’ despite the long-running name dispute with Greece, the two countries said Friday.

According to a joint statement [Fyrom] Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki and his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem said they had established diplomatic ties to open “more opportunities for bilateral cooperation”.

The agreement was signed in New York where both ministers were attending the United Nations General Assembly.

Syria is now the 129th state to recognize [Fyrom] under its constitutional name despite Greek opposition since [Fyrom] declared independence in 1991.

Greece fears that the name ‘Macedonia’ implies territorial pretensions towards its northern province of the same name. It has managed to successfully block [Fyrom’s] integration into the European Union and NATO.

[Fyrom] president Gjorge Ivanov also met Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou on the sidelines of the UN meeting.

The rare meeting between the two leaders was aimed at establishing trust between the two countries, but they did not directly discuss their dispute,  [Fyrom] media reported.