North Macedonia’s prime minister-elect and VMRO-DPMNE leader, Hristijan Mickoski said on Wednesday he will respect the Prespa Agreement, but will continue to use the name Macedonia in his public remarks.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Mickoski said that “whatever the Prespa Agreement entails, including the constitutional name, the future government of VMRO-DPMNE will respect.”
But Mickoski added that in his personal statements he will continue referring to his country as “Macedonia.”
“…it is my human right, guaranteed by numerous conventions, that I have the right to free speech and expression. I’m not mad at politicians who don’t say the full name of their country, but only use a part of that name. My homeland, in all my statements, is and will remain Macedonia,” he said.
Mitskoski’s actions come after North Macedonia’s newly-elected president, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, sparked a diplomatic spat with Greece in May by referring to her country as “Macedonia,” rather than the constitutional name “North Macedonia.”
At the time, Greece’s government pointed out that the new president’s deliberate avoidance of the country’s constitutional name was a “gross violation” of the 2018 Prespa Agreement and warned of consequences in bilateral relations and for North Macedonia’s prospects of joining the European Union.
