The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier called the adoption of the amendments a continuation of the artificial name change process imposed from the outside in order to force Skopje to join NATO, which violates the Macedonian legislation, while ignoring the position of the president and the opinion of the majority of the population rejecting the Prespes accord.
"The comments on the political development of internal events in friendly countries on the part of the Russian Foreign Ministry does not correspond to the level that characterizes relations between Greece and Russia, and the old bonds of friendship between our peoples," the Greek ministry said in a statement.
The Macedonian parliament on Friday approved a constitutional amendment to rename the country after almost three decades of dispute with Greece. The Greek legislature is expected to ratify the deal on the name change, lifting the veto on Macedonian entry to the European Union and NATO.
Russia has been repeatedly accused of meddling in the issue and attempts to prevent settlement of the naming issue. In July, Athens decided to expel two Russian diplomats and ban two more from entering the country over alleged illegal actions that threatened the country's national security, particularly, settlement of the dispute with Macedonia. Moscow has refuted the accusations calling them absurd.
