Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias appeared confident on Thursday that a referendum in the neighboring former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM) on June’s “Prespa Agreement” will approve of the deal, in receiving his German counterpart Heiko Maas in Athens.
He also estimated that constitutional revisions in the neighboring country will be completed by January 2019, with the agreement subsequently ratified by a majority of MPs in Greece’s 300-MP Parliament.
“It is an agreement that looks to the future, it’s a good agreement,” he said.
On his part, Maas said the bilateral agreement – which if passed on both sides of the border will render the one-time Yugoslav constituent state as the “Republic of North Macedonia” – as contributing to the security of the region and all Europe.
Conversely, during his meeting with main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Maas was told that the center-right party will not vote for the agreement, no matter when it comes to Parliament’s floor. Mitsotakis also reiterated his party’s opposition to the term “Macedonian” applied to the citizens of the neighboring country and to the predominant language in the former Yugoslav state.
