Macedonia's president said he will not accept his country's name change

- Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov said Wednesday he would not support an agreement reached between his country's prime minister and Greece to change the Balkan country's name.

Just hours after the deal was announced, Ivanov told reporters at a televised news conference that "such a harmful agreement, which is unique in the history of mankind, is shameful and unacceptable for me."

Prime ministers of the two countries had agreed earlier this week to refer to Macedonia as the Republic of Northern Macedonia, or Severna Makedonija in the Macedonian language, which would effectively end a 27-year feud between the two nations. The name change is an effort to prevent territorial claims to Greece's northern region of Macedonia.

However, Ivanov remained firm on his position, saying that the agreement gave too many concessions to Greece.

"My position is final and I will not yield to any pressure, blackmail or threats. I will not support or sign such a damaging agreement," he said.

The president is backed by the nationalist opposition group VMRO-DPMNE, whose leader Hristijan Mickoski said the party will "oppose this deal of capitulation with all democratic and legal means."

The capital of Skopje adopted the name of Macedonia in 1991 following its independence from former Yugoslavia, and Greece vetoed the country's bid to join NATO and the European Union over the name dispute. Ending the feud would open up the possibility for Macedonia to become a member of Europe, a goal Macedonia has held since it applied for full membership in 2004.