Greece fears that its name implies territorial ambitions toward the northern Greek region of Macedonia.

BBC: Macedonia's EU accession

Greece argues that the former Yugoslavia republic's name suggests a claim to the Greek province of Macedonia.

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Greek objections over Macedonia's name will do nicely.

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And as a consequence of Greek opposition to recognition of Macedonia by its own constitutional name as the Republic of Macedonia, when the representatives of the Skopje government took their seats at the United Nations after some delay in 1993, they sat behind a name plate referring to the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia, or Fyrom for short.

BBC: Macedonia's name saga

Although Greece still objects to Macedonia's name (which it shares with a northern Greek province), it would rather see the country stay whole than split between Albania and Bulgaria.

ECONOMIST: Macedonia: Next domino? | The

The incident comes at a tense time, as Macedonian and Greek diplomats begin talks on an agreement to normalize relations, muddied by a dispute over Macedonia's right to its name.

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