Skopje Mayor:Alexander the Great Was a Greek; Says Alexander Was Never Part of Slavic History

The mayor of Skopje -- the capital of FYROM (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) -- said yesterday that Greece and FYROM are showing a sincere willingness to resolve the decades-old name dispute of FYROM, in an interview in the Sunday edition of "Documento" newspaper, The National Herald website reports today (February 12, 2018).


Speaking to the "Documento" paper, Skopje Mayor Petre Shilegov said "When you want to solve a problem, you solve it. When you don't, you don't... We want to solve problems, not create them." (Greece is asking FYROM to change its name because a bordering province in northern Greece -- where Alexander the Great was born -- is called Macedonia.)


Asked whether he agrees with a statement made decades ago by former FYROM President Kiro Gligorov, that FYROM nationals are Slavs and have no connection to Alexander the Great, Shilegov agreed.


"Alexander the Great was never a part of our regular history. It was introduced in our history the last 10 years. Basically, when you talk about such nationalities, states, and peoples, you are referring to the last three hundred years, while Alexander the Great was two thousand three hundred years ago. I prefer to see him more as the leader who civilized the whole world," Shilegov said.