AKIPRESS.COM - After almost three decades of diplomatic dispute, punctuated by high drama with Greece, a new state called North Macedonia has finally assumed its place on the map of western Balkan nations, Guardian reports.

The freshly named country celebrated the event with a flag-raising ceremony marking its prospective – and long-awaited – accession to Nato. Under cloudy skies, the military alliance’s distinctive flag was hoisted outside the main government building in Skopje, the former Yugoslav republic’s capital.

Addressing assembled dignitaries in front of the building where workers were poised to replace a Republic of Macedonia sign removed earlier in the week with the state’s new name, prime minister Zoran Zaev luxuriated in the moment, saying a “historic goal” had been achieved.

As a result of its new name, North Macedonia could finally join Nato – a long-held dream for the small, multi-ethnic country which only narrowly escaped civil war in 2001.