Macedonia seeks name deal ratification
SKOPJE:: Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev on Saturday called on Greece to end the two nations’ decades-long dispute by ratifying the deal to rename his country The Republic of North Macedonia.
Macedonian lawmakers approved the agreement late on Friday.
It now needs backing from the Greek parliament to come into effect.
“Our parliament found the strength but it wasn’t easy. But I am convinced that the Greek parliament will also ind the strength to make the decision,” Zaev told a press conference in Skopje.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the parliament’s decision, praising the Macedonian leader’s “vision, courage and persistence” in seeking a resolution to the dispute with Greece that would allow it to join Nato and the European Union.
“The United States sees this as a historic opportunity to advance stability, security and prosperity throughout the region,” Pompeo said in a statement released from Washington.
Eighty-one of the Macedonian parliament’s 120 members backed the name change, securing the required two-thirds majority to push it through.
Zaev, who came to power in May 2017, is now looking to his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras to uphold his end of the deal, which the pair brokered last year.
“Within 10 days... if we see everything is in order, we will vote,” Tsipras said on Friday evening.
Athens has promised to lift its veto on Skopje’s attempts to join Nato and the EU if Macedonia changes its name.
Zaev said he was “convinced that Greek lawmakers will recognise the historical signiicance of the agreement.” Probe ordered A Greek prosecutor on Saturday ordered an investigation into alleged threats to lawmakers over a name deal with Greece’s neighbour Macedonia, a judicial source said.
Macedonia’s parliament on Friday passed an amendment to the constitution to rename the country Republic of North Macedonia, in line with an agreement with Greece to put an end to a 27-year-old dispute.
Many Greeks are irked that their Balkan neighbour is assuming a name linked to Greek heritage and identical to a northern region of Greece.
The countries struck the deal in June, but Macedonia will start using the new name only after the parliament in Athens also ratiies the agreement. A vote is expected later this month.
The order for a preliminary investigation came after two Greek news websites reported that lawmakers had received threatening text messages to vote against the deal, the source said.
The probe will seek to determine whether there has been a violation of personal data and inducement to commit a crime, the source added.
The Macedonia accord has strained relations between Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his junior coalition partner Panos Kammenos.
Kammenos, defence minister and head of the right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL) has vowed to reject the deal but at least one of his deputies has said publicly he will support it. It is unclear how other ANEL lawmakers will vote.
The left-right governing coalition has a razor-thin majority with 153 seats in the 300 member parliament. Seven of those seats belong to ANEL.
The main opposition New Democracy party has said it will block the deal. The government hopes the deal will pass with the support of centre-left and independent lawmakers.