Macedonia, Yugoslavia Sign Accord

Macedonia and Yugoslavia established diplomatic ties Monday, a long-awaited announcement that means Yugoslavia--now consisting only of Serbia and tiny Montenegro--has abandoned all territorial claims to its southern neighbor.

Macedonian Foreign Minister Ljubomir Frckovski signed the accord in Belgrade with his Yugoslav counterpart, Milan Milutinovic.

The ministers toasted their agreement, then met Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic at his retreat north of Belgrade. A statement from Milosevic’s office stressed the “great mutual interest” in developing good ties with the former Yugoslav republic.

Apparently in deference to Serbia’s good relations with Greece, the agreement sealed all the arrangements normally associated with mutual recognition but stopped short of calling it that.

Greece still criticized the agreement, however, because--in a Yugoslav concession to the Macedonians--the accord refers to the country as the “Republic of Macedonia.”

Greece has awkward relations with Macedonia, which it says has claims to Greece’s northern province of the same name.