The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs has described as a provocation towards Greece the statements of the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski, who stated during his visit to the US that the “Macedonian issue“ still stands and must be resolved, Greek media report.
Mickoski, who was at the inauguration of the new US President Donald Trump, met yesterday in New Jersey with representatives of Macedonian organizations in the US. He then wrote on his Facebook profile, quoted by MIA: “The fight at home is a fight that we will wage, a fight for better infrastructure, better healthcare, better quality education, a competitive economy, and we have been doing this since we were elected to government, but this fight of one of the smallest peoples in Europe is not enough. We must also win in Washington, Brussels, Berlin, London, Paris, Rome and other world capitals if we want the Macedonian issue to finally reach its resolution, because it has not been resolved, it has been smoldering for centuries and is still standing“.
The statement of the Greek Foreign Ministry, published by ANA-MPA, states that “in statements in New Jersey, USA, the Prime Minister of North Macedonia decided to speak of an “unresolved“ and “existing“ Macedonian issue. For Greece, it is a provocation that (Mitzkoski) is trying to put back on the agenda an issue that has been resolved, as is known, finally and irreversibly. Greece recalls that further progress in its bilateral relations with North Macedonia and the smooth continuation of the neighboring country's European path presuppose full respect for the Prespa Treaty (from 2018) and, of course, refraining from irredentist statements and claims to the detriment of neighboring countries“.