WASHINGTON, Nov 4: In its first foreign policy move since President George W. Bush won re-election this week, the United States enraged Nato ally Greece on Thursday by siding with neighbouring Macedonia in a bitter row over the use of the country's name.

The United States formally recognized the "Republic of Macedonia" as the name of the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM) over the strong objections of Greece which has waged a lengthy international campaign against Skopje's use of the moniker.

"We have decided to refer to FYROM from now on as the 'Republic of Macedonia,'" a US official said, adding that the move was intended as a show of support for Skopje and not aimed at upsetting Greece which immediately protested the change.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell made the decision to drop the use of the 11-year-old FYROM designation on Wednesday just as Bush was confirmed the winner of Tuesday's presidential election, officials said.

The largely symbolic move is intended to reward Skopje for its commitment to multi-ethnic democracy and its "steadfast role" in the war on terrorism, including the deployment of troops to Iraq, the officials said.

But it infuriated Greece which has long opposed using the name "Macedonia," the same name as the northern Greek province where Alexander the Great was born, to refer to its northern neighbour.

In Skopje, Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski hailed the decision as a "great day" ahead of a critical referendum on Sunday in which Macedonians will vote on US-supported legislation to empower the country's ethnic Albanian minority, amid fears of a return to ethnic clashes.

"This is a victory that the United States has recognized Macedonia under her constitutional name," he said. "It's confirmation that when you believe in something and work towards it you will get results. I express enormous gratitude and I congratulate the United States for this decision."

US officials stressed that the move was not aimed at upsetting Greece but acknowledged that Athens was unhappy. Even before the change was announced, Greece lodged a sharp protest.

Foreign Minister Petros Molyviatis cancelled a trip to an EU summit in Brussels to summon US ambassador Thomas Miller to register Athens' extreme displeasure at the change.

"I pointed out to the US ambassador the multiple, negative repercussions that this unilateral decision by the American government will have," Molyviatis told reporters after meeting Miller.

Greece insists the name "Macedonia" is part of Greek heritage and believes Skopje's use of it carries territorial claims on its northern province of Macedonia.

It has fought against Macedonia's recognition under its constitutional name since the former Yugoslav republic gained independence from the erstwhile federation in 1991.

After protracted negotiations, Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations under the provisional name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia".

There have been recent signs that the United States was tiring of the impasse which has forced many official documents to be footnoted with specific references to FYROM when Macedonia is mentioned.-AFP