ATHENS, Nov 4 (AFP) - Greek President Costis Stephanopoulos on Thursday congratulated US President George W. Bush on his re-election, but criticised Washington for its decision to recognize Greece's northern neighbour Macedonia under its constitutional name.
"The recognition of FYROM under the name of 'Macedonia', with which this country promotes historically unsubstantiated, irredentist claims on our country, has disappointed the Greek people deeply," Stephanopoulos said in a letter to Bush, Greek semi-official news agency ANA reported.
A US official said earlier Thursday that Washington had recognized the "Republic of Macedonia" as the name of what has been known as the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM) since the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.
The US statement said the name change was to reward Skopje for its commitment to multi-ethnic democracy.
Greece has long contested its northern neighbour's use of "Macedonia" on the grounds that it carries territorial claims on its northern province of the same historic name.
Greece earlier Thursday angrily condemned the US decision to recognize the name Macedonia chose for itself -- the same as a northern Greek province where Alexander the Great was born -- and summoned the US ambassador to the foreign ministry in Athens to protest.
11/04/2004 18:48 GMT - AFP