Mitsotakis to Zaev: I would not have signed the Prespes deal

In his first meeting with North Macedonia’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev since being elected, Greek Premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he would not have signed the Prespes accord if he had been in power in 2018 when the deal was inked, according to government sources cited by the Athens-Macedonian News Agency Tuesday.

However, since it was ratified by the Greek Parliament in January this year, the agreement is now part of international law and therefore the government will respect it, he added during their talks which were held on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York, as part of Mitsotakis’ contacts with Balkan leaders.

He also called on Zaev to implement all aspects of the name deal in full, particularly those relating to the protection of trademarks.

Zaev said his government aims to avoid delays and complete pending issues that are linked to his country’s European Union accession efforts and expressed hope that the successful implementation of the Prespes accord will facilitate Greek investments in his country.

Mitsotakis responded that the lack of a deal in the past never hampered investment from Greece.

As the leader of the then main opposition, Mitsotakis had opposed the accord, arguing that it created more problems for Greece than it solved.