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Sunday, December 31, 2017

2,300 years on, the spirit of warrior hero hovers over Macedonia peace bid

After decades of feuding over ownership of Alexander the Great, rival leaders opt for fresh start Diners at a fish taverna in Thessaloniki on Saturday night could have been forgiven for thinking they had seen the spirit of Alexander the Great hovering over their tables. The warrior king’s cultural pedigree and historical reach were certainly on the minds of those present. This was no ordinary meal – either for Yiannis Boutaris, Thessaloniki’s mayor or his guest Zoran Zaev, prime minister of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. The two were sending a signal: that old enmities belonged to the past, along with the nationalist rhetoric that for more than a quarter of a century has kept Greece and its northern neighbour at loggerheads. Continue reading...


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