How about "sterile"?At risk of provoking a mammoth flame war, it would be interesting to hear what readers think of the comparison with the Greece-Macedonia (OK OK Fyrom) row, which also (at least from an outsider's point of view) stems from radically clashing historical narratives and mutual incomprehension.
The government in Skopje offers to join as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), a mouthful it uses in some international forums.Not enough, says the Greek foreign minister, Dora Bakoyiannis, "FYROM is not a serious name".
In many international fora, such as the EU, Greece has been able to impose the use of the clunky formulation "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM).
It has since joined the United Nations and applied to NATO and the European Union as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, a name usually reduced to its acronym, Fyrom.
Macedonia's foreign minister, Nikola Poposki, is in Washington this week to make the case for Fyrom.
The ICJ refers to the country as the Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia (FYROM) – the compromise name the country has been forced to use internationally since it declared independence in 1992.
Following on the heels of Canada recognising the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) by its constitutional name of Republic of Macedonia last month, the foreign minister of Greece, Dora Bakoyiannis, disclosed in an interview this week that Greece is prepared to allow the use of "Macedonia" in some form to finally settle the 15-year FYROM naming dispute.
While Macedonia wants to be known as the Republic of Macedonia Greecee insists on the clunky 'Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia', or Fyrom for short.
That federation fell apart after the collapse of Communism in the 1990s – and after the bloodshed, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Macedonia (FYROM) and most recently Montenegro all gained independence.
