Former Prime Minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, and the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Zoran Zaev, have been awarded the Westphalia Peace Prize in Germany.
According to the International Review Board of the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL), Tsipras and Zaev have been honoured for their “diplomatic skills” with the Prespa Agreement and for their contribution to stability.
The Prespa agreement, apart from settling terminological differences over the name of North Macedonia, also covers areas of cooperation between the two countries in order to establish a strategic partnership between them.
“Without Tsipras and Zaev, the name dispute would not have ended, and the feud would continue to destabilise the entire Balkan region,” Chairman of the Board, Dr Reinhard Zinkann, said at the award ceremony.
READ MORE: Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev to receive Westphalia Peace Prize for “diplomatic skills”.
For his part, Tsipras said in a speech on the night that the Prespa Agreement is a model for the peaceful settlement of disputes.
“We wanted an Agreement under the UN that would withstand and would not collapse in the face of the first difficulty. An Agreement that would not only resolve our differences, but would tie us to a new strategic partnership to face challenges together and seize opportunities together,” Tsipras said.
“The Prespa Agreement can make a significant contribution to a new European and global vision, as a model for the peaceful settlement of disputes by protecting national interests and building trust and cooperation even in the most difficult times.”
READ MORE: Zoran Zaev says tweet omitting the word ‘North’ from North Macedonia was a ‘mistake’.
Prime Minister Zaev added that together with his then-colleague Tsipras, they chose to find a solution without delay.
“This strong commitment, the willingness to sacrifice our own political careers in the name of the future, connected us and guided us through the process,” Zaev said.
“We chose to leave solutions as traces behind us. Solutions for our citizens and our societies and we came to a solution when everyone claimed that it was impossible.”
The Westphalia Award was instituted in 1998 by the LWL, in memory of the key principles of the Westphalian Peace Agreement in 1648 that sealed the end of the Thirty Years’ War: religious peace and tolerance.
The award honours personalities or representatives of states that have become a role model for Europe and the world for their work for peace.
READ MORE: Leaders of Greece and North Macedonia discuss Prespa Agreement.
