Mickoski's new challenge: Greece is the one that does not respect the Prespa Agreement

2024-07-13 20:49:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Mickoski's new challenge: Greece is the one that does not respect the

The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Christian Mickoski

The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Christian Mickoski, in an interview for "Al Jazeera Balkan" has affirmed again that he adheres to the Prespa Agreement and that Greece is the one that is hindering and not implementing the agreement.

Kristian Mickoski, asked why he does not adhere to the Prespa Agreement and does not always use the constitutional name North Macedonia, since the country has only one name for each use (erga omnes), answered:

"I will not agree with your conclusion that I do not adhere to the Prespa Agreement. I am not satisfied with this arrangement. You know how this Agreement was approved in the Parliament, when they grabbed the deputies by the ear and took them to the Parliament, while earlier they were detained and imprisoned, they were blackmailed to vote in favor of what happened then. Whatever it is in effect, it is reality. Four years ago I said that this Agreement is a reality, despite the fact that I received strong political attacks from the extreme right and the extreme left in Macedonia. Thus, I abide by what is contained in this Agreement. The general official, formal and institutional communication is done exclusively with the aggressive definition you mentioned, but the question is why the other side is not adhering to the Prespa agreement and what does the other side have that is part of the Prespa Agreement, I mean Southern Neighbor, you made us , Greece? Compliance is a two-way street, we must behave like this, we cannot have double standards, we must have a principled behavior".

Asked to comment on the fact that immediately after the Prespa Agreement, Greece was the one that offered support for North Macedonia to become a member of NATO in 2020 and that it is the one that has always offered support for European integration processes. of North Macedonia, Christian Mickoski, he asserted that Greece does not provide essential support for his country's European path.

"I think that if the Agreement is analyzed and read correctly, it will be seen that we have done much more than our obligation, not only in terms of the Prespa Agreement, but also in terms of the timing of actions towards its implementation. I repeat that the issue is what our southern neighbor has done. You mentioned Greece's support for Macedonia's integration into the Euro-Atlantic institutions, but apart from the support with statements of intentions, I have not seen any substantial support, while the citizens of the country have not felt this either, and I will not refer to the rhetoric offensive, such as Skopianos, Skopje, in the non-sanction of memorandums by the Assembly in the previous five years. If I'm the problem now, what happened years ago? Citizens in Macedonia and the state are unfortunately victims of the servile behavior of the previous government, which did absolutely nothing to improve the quality of life of the citizens. Also, the offensive behavior of a large part of our neighbors towards Macedonia, towards the Macedonian people did not bring anything good for the future of the citizens and what is equally important and to which I want to refer is that I expected something more from our southern neighbor how this two-way course can work", said Christian Mickoski.

Regarding his country's relations with Bulgaria, Christian Mickoski reiterated that he will not agree to the amendment of the Constitution of North Macedonia for the inclusion of the Bulgarian minority living in the country, a necessary condition that has been imposed in Skopje by Sofia as well. for North Macedonia to open EU membership funds.

Christian Mickoski has indicated that he can go ahead with such an amendment to his country's Constitution, provided it comes into effect when North Macedonia joins the EU, something that Bulgaria and the EU categorically reject. CNA