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Balkan Insight (20 June 2018)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic on Wedneday said the authorities in Serbia had not "congratulated" Macedonia and Greece on their landmark deal over Macedonia's name, as “we have nothing to congratulate”. 

That did not mean Serbia was against the deal, Dacic insisted. “We have a positive opinion and support every agreement in which somebody agrees to settle things peacefully," Dacic said, the Serbian news agency Beta reported. 

He added that "of course" the Serbian authorities “wish it to be resolved and wish luck to both Athens and Skopje, without entering into what it [the agreement] is called, and [hope that] it contributes to the stability of the region”.

Macedonia's parliament on Wednesday ratified the agreement reached between the two governments by which Macedonia agreed to adopt the name "Republic of North Macedonia" – in exchange for Greek ending its veto on Macedonia's EU and NATO membership bids.

The EU, the US and many other countries have warmly welcomed the deal, which promises to put an end to one of Europe's most intractable bilateral disputes.

But many experts have noted that the resolution of the dispute will put more pressure on Serbia to resolve its own dispute with the former province of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/there-is-nothing-to-be-congratulated-in-macedonia-greece-name-deal-serbian-fm-06-20-2018