馬其頓機場改名望解決與希臘“名稱之爭”

Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev took a big step Wednesday in resolving the long dispute with neighboring Greece over the name Macedonia. Zaev said his country is changing the name of the capitAl's Skopje Alexander the Great Airport.

Alexander the Great was the ancient Greek king who ruled the northern Greek territory also named Macedonia. Another country using his name is a major irritant for many Greeks.

Greece and Macedonia have been feuding over who gets to use the name since Macedonia became independent from Yugoslavia in 1991.

Many Greeks say allowing the neighboring country to use the name insults Greek history and implies a claim on Greek territory.

Greece has blocked Macedonian efforts to join the European Union and NATO because of the name dispute.

The United Nations has been struggling to negotiate a settlement for more than 20 years. Lead negotiator Matthew Nimetz said last week he is "very hopeful" a settlement is near.

The country of Macedonia is officially known at the U.N. as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.馬其頓總理佐蘭·扎埃夫（Zoran Zaev）星期三針對解決與鄰國希臘的“馬其頓”名稱爭端採取重大行動。他說，馬其頓首都斯科普里亞歷山大大帝機場將改名。

亞歷山大大帝是古希臘國王，曾統治過希臘北部一個也叫馬其頓的地方。其它國家使用亞歷山大大帝名稱令很多希臘人不滿。

馬其頓自從1991年從南斯拉夫獨立以來，一直與希臘在誰有權使用“馬其頓”這個名稱發生爭執。

很多希臘人說，允許鄰國使用馬其頓這個名稱是對希臘歷史的褻瀆，並暗含對希臘領土的叵測之心。

由於名稱之爭，在希臘的反對下，馬其頓一直不能加入歐盟和北約。

聯合國20多年來一直努力通過談判解決這兩個國家的糾紛。負責談判的聯合國官員尼梅茨上星期說，很有希望近期看到問題得到解決。

在聯合國，馬其頓的正式國名是“前南斯拉夫馬其頓共和國”。