Now officially North Macedonia, after a name deal with Greece, North Macedonia wants to let the world know that it’s also Macedonia, usurping the name of an abutting Greek province in the agreement with the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA.

It had been The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) for nearly 28 years before the deal pushed through Parliament by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras over the objections of two-thirds of Greeks were opposed.

North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministery has lost no time putting out media guides telling reporters how they must refer to the country and its citizens, saying the citizenship is Macedonian/citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia.

The ministry also said North Macedonia has  Macedonian language, and that word should be used when referring to “our language, history, culture, heritage, territory and other attributes,” noting that such terms “are distinctly different from those used and related to the region of Macedonia in Greece.”

The ministry said proper examples of the use of the word “Macedonia” would include Macedonian ethnic identity, Macedonian language, Macedonian culture, Macedonian territory, Macedonian people, Macedonian history, etc., noting that the adjective “North” should not be used in the aforementioned context.

The term North Macedonia is applied mostly to the government but otherwise it should be Macedonian economy, Macedonian art, Macedonian music, Macedonian agriculture, Macedonian architecture. What Greece got in return was the word North.