Macedonia changed its name to Northern Macedonia.

Macedonia officially changed its name Tuesday in Northern Macedonia, which puts an end to an old conflict with neighboring Greece and ensures the entry of the Balkan country into NATO.

A government statement said that the official name of the young country will now be the Republic of Macedonia of the North. The government plans to proceed gradually with a series of adjustments, ranging from new road signs to updating pbadports and coins. On Tuesday, he started doing this by modifying his website.

Prime Minister ZOran Zaev said that his country would make all the necessary changes to follow up on the historic agreement it had reached with the Greek Prime Minister last year.

"In the end, we must show that we fulfill our obligations," he said. "I think that all institutions are ready to act. "

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Dimitrov said that the change had ended a series of exchanges of diplomatic messages with Greece.

"That today is the beginning of a long friendship between Greece and North Macedonia", he said in a tweet. "We can not change our past, but we can and will shape our future of friendship, society and cooperation."

This name change resolves a dispute with Greece that dates back to the declaration of Macedonian independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

Athens had long argued that The name of his neighbor implied a tacit claim from the province of Macedonia in northern Greece and Greek cultural heritage.

Although more than 130 countries have officially recognized this country as Macedonia, The United States and other international entities have preferred to use the name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", convoluted alias that Greece and Macedonia agreed in advance in 1995.