Protesters in Macedonia decry proposed name compromise

Several thousand protesters have gathered in front of Macedonia's parliament in the capital of Skopje to demand the government call off talks with neighboring Greece on a decades-long name dispute.

The protesters marched peacefully from the main Orthodox cathedral past the European Union office, chanting "Macedonia! Macedonia!" and waving national flags.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev's nine-month-old center-left government has started talks with Greece and says he could back a proposal to modify the country's name. Greece says it implies a territorial claim against its own region of Macedonia.

Greeks held a large rally in Athens earlier this month to also reject a proposed compromise.