WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (AFP) - The United States on Friday defended its decision to formally recognize the "Republic of Macedonia" as the name for the former Yugoslav republic and did little to ease Greek fury at the move as it warned US citizens in Greece of possible violent reaction.
The State Department said the move, made Wednesday by Secretary of State Colin Powell, would not change and reiterated that it was not done to spite Athens but to reward Skopje for its commitment to multiethnic democracy and its backing for the war on terrorism, including in Iraq.
"The question of what we call Macedonia is not something that's in any way directed at Greece," spokesman Richard Boucher said. "It's not directed against any other country.
"We very much value our relationship with Greece," he said. "We're very much committed to working with Greece on all aspect that our two nations as allies and friends have in common."
Greece maintains that "Macedonia" carries territorial claims on the northern Greek province of the same historic name -- the birthplace of Alexander the Great -- and has fought to prevent Skopje from using the moniker.
The US decision infuriated Athens which formally protested the move Thursday, and Friday a government spokesman said Greece would veto Macedonia's possible entry into the EU and NATO if the dispute is not resolved.
Boucher said Powell's decision was not intended to prejudice stalled talks on the name issue and said the United States remained hopeful a solution could be found.
"We do believe that it's important for the parties ... with the help of the United Nations to try to come to a positive solution on this and we'll continue to encourage that," he said.
But an irate Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said in Brussels that the US move was mistaken, "off the mark and unfortunate" and that it would not help resolve the problem. "I'm afraid it intensifies it," he said.
Boucher declined to comment on Karamanlis' remarks.
Shortly after Boucher spoke, the US embassy in Athens warned Americans in Greece that the name move could spark animosity and potentially violent protests at places associated with the United States, such as the embassy.
"This decision may create heightened tensions in Greece and stimulate reactions against American interests in Greece, especially in northern Greece," the embassy said in a notice to US citizens.
"While we have no specific information at this writing of plans for large-scale demonstrations, given the importance of this issue to many in Greece, we cannot dismiss the possibility of public demonstrations against this decision, both at the US embassy in Athens, and at the US consulate general in Thessaloniki, as well as other places," it said.
"American citizens in Greece should take care to avoid all such demonstrations or places where such demonstrations or even spontaneous public outbursts of anti-American emotion might occur," the embassy said.
"For the time being, all Americans in Greece should also heighten their individual and family sense of and attention to personal security," it said, adding that "even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence."
Because of the Greek objections, Macedonia, which gained independence from the former Yugoslav federation in 1991, has been provisionally recognized by the United Nations and the European Union as the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" since 1993.
11/05/2004 21:06 GMT - AFP