UN chief urges FYROM to proceed with implementation of name deal

A day after voters in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) backed a plan to change the country's name by a large margin but failed to hit the 50 percent turnout, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday urged politicians to push the deal through.

“The fact that an overwhelming majority of those voting supported the Prespa agreement is important,” Guterres said in a statement.

The UN chief “urges all political forces in the country to proceed with implementation through the country's institutions,” the statement said.

The European Union, NATO, and the United States have all called upon Skopje to move forward with the next steps required to enact the agreement reached with Greece in June under which the country will be renamed “Republic of North Macedonia.”