Eurasia Press & News
While some fear the new statue will pour oil onto the flames of the ‘name’ dispute with Greece, other say ties are already so damaged it will make no difference.
Experts are divided over whether the erection of a huge statue of Alexander the Great in the middle of Skopje on Tuesday will have a damaging effect on relations between Greece and Macedonia – and on Macedonia’s EU perspectives.
Professor Stevo Pendarovski, from the University American College, maintains that the government-backed installation of the statue will not harm Macedonian-Greek relations, as they are dismal to start with.
“The erection of the statue is the last part of a project started by the government in 2007, with the renaming of the airport after Alexander the Great,” he recalled.
“Since then, the relations between Athens and Skopje have been practically frozen so this can’t worsen them,” Pendarovski added.
