FYROM PM Zaev says no need to change nation’s Constitution

As Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia edge towards a solution to longstanding disagreement between the two countries over the latter’s name, FYROM's Prime Minister Zoraen Zaev said on Wednesday that he saw no reason for changing the country’s constitution.

Zaev said Skopje has already taken a “big step” to tackle irredentism, noting that the country’s constitution was last changed in 1993. 

Skopje has been striving to prove that “it has no ambitions, whether territorial or otherwise… that it has no irredentist aims,” Zaev said. 

Along with calling for a composite name including a geographical qualifier, Athens has called for a change to FYROM’s constitution, expressing concerns about parts of it that suggest irredentist aims. 

On Tuesday, Zaev said that Skopje is ready to accept a geographical qualifier to its name.

He added that his cabinet decided to rename the capital’s airport “Skopje International Airport” from “Alexander the Great International Airport” and to rename a key national highway “National Friendship Road” instead of the current “National Road Alexander the Macedonian.”

The Greek Foreign Ministry welcomed FYROM’s move to rename the airport and highway, referring to a “positive step.”

Once the changes have been made, it is likely that Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias will fly to Skopje to continue talks.