North Macedonia president sees no violation of name deal
The newly elected president of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska, says that she does not believe she violated the Prespa Agreement with Greece when she referred to her country as “Macedonia” at her inauguration earlier this month, while going on to accuse Greece of failing to uphold the terms of the 2018 name deal.
“I respect the Prespa Agreement – I don’t see that I’ve violated it. The agreement explicitly states that the name agreed upon will be used in documents and communication. So, I don’t see it as a violation,” Siljanovska was quoted by the Republika news outlet as saying during an event on Monday marking the 20th anniversary of the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM).
“I neither tore up the statement nor said that I wouldn’t respect the Constitution, nor did I say I would terminate the Prespa Agreement. I criticized the agreement because of the procedure of its adoption and its inconsistency vis-a-vis the United Nations Charter. However, it is a legal fact and reality, and I will respect it,” she added, responding to a question from the press.
Asked whether tension with Athens could affect North Macedonia’s aspirations to join the European Union, Siljanovska said that the Greek side would be “in a better position to answer” the question.
“I hear occasional warnings and threats, but international law dictates that agreements should be respected. However, when asking others to do something, it’s reasonable to question what we have done ourselves, in the logic of reciprocity,” she said, going on to accuse Greece of violating the name deal.
“Anyone who has been to Greece can see that the name they ask us to respect is not emphasized anywhere. ‘Skopje’ remains prevalent and even ‘Skopia’ is used, not to mention various acronyms and memorandums. For me, the most significant memorandum is the one concerning assistance in Euro integration. Therefore, I anticipate action by way of example,” Siljanovska said.
The newly elected nationalist president also pointed the finger at Athens for failing to proceed with the ratification of the individual chapters of the 2018 deal.
“We have amended documents for internal use. The Prespa Agreement states that implementation should commence five years after its entry into force, and after the opening of the first chapter. I have a question for Greece, and for everyone else: have any chapters been opened, and isn’t that also an oversight, not to mention a violation? Isn’t that also a deviation from the Prespa Agreement?,” she said, according to Republika.
