Macedonia's Name-Change Referendum Is Undercut by Low Turnout
- Republic of Macedonia holds ballot to end dispute with Greece
- Government in Skopje hopes to open the way to EU, NATO
A man enters a polling station in Strumica, Macedonia on Sept. 30.
Photographer: Konstantinos Tsakalidis/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A dispute in Europe’s most unstable region may be drawing to a close as voters in the Republic of Macedonia decide in a referendum whether to rename their country.
The former Yugoslav republic of 2 million people is the latest flashpoint in the struggle for influence between Russia and the West in eastern Europe. The government in Skopje, led by Prime Minister Zoran Zaev, is trying to steer his nation toward membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Moscow opposes the further expansion of the military alliance into what it considers its sphere of influence.