Τhe statement of North Macedonia president is “illegal and provocative” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Monday, a day after Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova used the word “Macedonia” during her sworn-in ceremony instead “North Macedonia” as the constitutional name of the country is following the Prespa Agreement of 2018.
A diplomatic spat between the two countries seemed inevitable after the victory of nationalist VMRO in the parliamentary and presidential elections on May 8. The VMRO had pledged to annul the Prespa Agreemnt if it wins the elections.
“The provocative choice of the new President of North Macedonia to violate the official text of her oath and call her country by a different name is an illegal and impermissible initiative. An act, which violates the Prespa Agreement and the very Constitution of her state,” Mitsotakis posted on social media.
Η προκλητική επιλογή της νέας Προέδρου της Βόρειας Μακεδονίας να παραβεί το επίσημο κείμενο του όρκου της και να αποκαλέσει τη χώρα της με διαφορετικό όνομα αποτελεί πρωτοβουλία παράνομη και ανεπίτρεπτη. pic.twitter.com/jLC0M289vB
— Prime Minister GR (@PrimeministerGR) May 13, 2024
He added that this action also undermines the country’s its future as already stated by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Council Charles Michel.
For North Macedonia to continue its successful path on EU accession it is paramount that the country continues on the path of reforms and full respect for its binding agreements, including the Prespa Agreement.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) May 12, 2024
Late on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry in Athens issued a statement saying that the new president’s actions violated an agreement between the two nations and put in danger both bilateral relations and North Macedonia’s prospects of joining the European Union.
“Civil War” between Greek government and opposition
The issue triggered a “civil war” in the Greek political landscape, mainly between the conservative government of New Democracy and several opposition parties.
Worth recalling that as main opposition party ND in 2018 had down-voted the Prespa Agreement.
“It is known that, as the opposition, the New Democracy voted against the 2019 Agreement. In fact, warning at the time of the problems that its failures would create. As a government, however, we respected the Greek signature to an international treaty, binding for the country. Unfortunately, the recent development justifies our steadfastly cautious position,” Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in his statement.
Leader of SYRIZA, Stefanos Kasselakis, called on the Prime Minister to make it clear that “either you consider it a beneficial agreement for Greece and keep it, or you consider it a bad agreement and put on your helmet and go to your like-minded people and cancel it”. Kasselakis pointed out that “the SYRIZA government carried all of Greece on its back in the Prespa Agreement” and “paid dearly for its patriotism.”
“What happened at the swearing-in of the President in Skopje confirms how right we were all those who vigorously resisted the Prespa agreement,” said Andreas Loverdos, chairman of the Democrats and former PASOK minister in a statement. He added that by accepting the name “North Macedonia”, Greece opened the door for the nationalists of Skopje.
Communist KKE said that “iIn any case, developments on the Prespa Agreement front will be of particular interest. Not because they justify the assessment of the KKE, that the Prespa Agreement did not serve the real resolution of the differences between the two countries, but ultimately only the entry of the neighboring country into NATO.”
Alexis Charitsis from the New Left called on Mitsotakis “to bring the three Memorandums of Cooperation with North Macedonia to the Parliament for ratification. To stop caressing the ears of nationalists and extreme right-wingers in his government, in his party, in the electoral audience and to return our country, Greece, to the path of peaceful coexistence, to the path of cooperation, to the path of peace.”
Sharp reactions in Skopje
Siljanovska-Davkova’s action triggered strong reactions not only in Athens but also in Skopje where the Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry urged her to “full compliance with the Prespa Agreement.”
The Justice Ministry questioned the validity of Silianovska’s swearing in, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia stressed that especially elected officials should observe the country’s constitutional provisions.
“We confirm the firm determination of the country for the unequivocal observance of the Constitutional provisions as well as all internationally undertaken obligations such as the full observance of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the Republic of North Macedonia and Greece , known as the Prespa Agreement,” the Foreign Ministry in Skopje underlined.
