site.btaVMRO-DPNE'S Milososki Believes Prespa Agreement Issue Used in Greece for EP Elections

The use of the term "Macedonia" does not violate the Prespa Agreement and the Republic of North Macedonia cannot be excluded from NATO, former foreign minister and VMRO-DPMNE MP Antonio Milososki said in an interview with TV 21.

"(VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan) Mickoski, as well as (Republic of North Macedonia President Gordana) Siljanovska-Davkova, stressed that they will formally-legally follow (the policy of) communication based on the new reality. In their public oral statements they will use the term "Macedonia", which I believe does not contradict Article 7 of the Prespa Agreement, where it is clearly defined that each of the parties (of the Agreement) can use the term "Macedonia" and the term "Macedonian"," Milososki said.

The issue of whether the Prespa Agreement is violated after Gordana Siljanovska did not pronounce the constitutional name of the country - the Republic of North Macedonia - during her swearing-in as president, and pronouncing only "Macedonia", continues, while statements related to it come from Greece on a daily basis.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said he would raise the issue of compliance with the Prespa Agrement at the next NATO summit in Washington, due to be held in mid-July, but still, "he hopes that logic will prevail among the authorities in Skopje," the country's media recalled.

According to Antonio Milososki, however, the issue of the Prespa Agreement is raised in Greece because of the upcoming European elections on June 9 and through the issue of the Republic of North Macedonia both Mitsotakis and the Greek opposition are trying to gain political dividends.

"As far as NATO is concerned, both Greece and (the Republic of) North Macedonia are members and no one can exclude anyone from this military-political alliance. If Greece thinks it should expend diplomatic and political capital on this issue, that is their assessment," Milososki said.

The Prespa Agreement, which North Macedonia concluded in 2018, opened the possibility of the country becoming a member of NATO, following years of dispute over the country's name [with Greece]. After Gordana Siljanovska's swearing-in speech, in which she did not use the country's constitutional name, and days later VMRO-DPMNE chairman Mickoski saying it was his personal right what to call his country, and the strong reaction from Greece, Siljanovska avoided using the country's name, calling it "our country".

The name Republic of North Macedonia does not appear in the text of official announcements from her office, while Greece said it was awaiting the swearing-in of Mickoski's new government to decide what measures to take.