Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with his counterpart from North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, for the first time as the premier on Tuesday, a closely watched and symbolic meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, given that the former, as the main opposition leader, vehemently opposed the Prespa Agreement.
The landmark agreement added the “North” to the stand-alone “Macedonia” used by the neighboring country, ending a nearly 30-year feud between the one-time Yugoslav constituent state and EU member-state Greece.
According to widely circulated press reports from New York City, Mitsotakis told Zaev that he would not have signed the Prespa Agreement, adding that as the opposition leader he did whatever he could so it wouldn’t be ratified.
At the same time, the same leaked reiterated, Mitsotakis said that after the bilateral agreement’s ratification, it has become part of international law, and as a result Greece will respect it.
The center-right Greek premier also called on his North Macedonia counterpart to avoid delays in fully implementing the agreement, especially in terms of protecting brand names.
On his part, Zaev expressed his government volition to avoid delays and quickly resolve whatever open issues related to the country’s EU accession course.
