Mitsotakis imposed the name "Macedonia" outside of Skopje - The attitude of the USA and the reaction of Mitsotakis

18 Jul, 2024

Billboards are changed from the Republic of Macedonia to the Republic of North Macedonia on February 12, Image by www.rferl.org

National Issues

Immediately after their election victory in Skopje, both the president of VMRO-DPMNE and later Prime Minister Mr. Christian Mickoski, and the new president of the country Mrs. Gordana Silianovska (also of VMRO-DPMNE), started to they just call Skopje "Macedonia"^1,2. Mrs. Silianovska even during her swearing-in referred to her country simply as "Macedonia"¹, while on 27-6-2024 with a lot of audacity referred to "refugees of Aegean Macedonia" effectively opening the chapter of "Macedonian" liberationism against Greece^3,4. There was no reaction from the US.

A few days before the formation of the government in Skopje, Mr Mickoski stated that he will use the constitutional name of the state (i.e. North Macedonia) when he is sworn in to Parliament, but also in his appearances abroad. The US Ambassador to Skopje, Mrs. Angela Angeler, greeted^5,6 the specific statement of Mr. Mickoski and he expressed the hope that all the ministers of the new government would follow his example. Of course, the lady ambassador of the USA did not seem bothered by the fact that Mr. Mickoski in his above statement only referred to his swearing-in and his appearances abroad. He did not say that he will call his country "North Macedonia" in his statements at home either. In fact, on the contrary, with this statement he was actually emphasizing something that, after all, he has said many times, that internally it will continue to call Skopje simply "Macedonia". So, in essence, the US has rewarded Mr Mickoski's stance of internally calling Skopje simply "Macedonia" and urged all ministers in the new government to do the same.

Also, Mrs. Aggeler spoke of some "room" for movements within the framework of the Prespa Agreement, effectively giving a pardon to the Skopje side that violates the above agreement⁷.

The special Ombudsperson for nomenclature, Mr. Matthew Nimitz, in his interview on 28-6-2024 on in.gr, stated the following regarding the Prespa Agreement, among other things⁸: "I don't think the deal will fall apart. It's a very strong deal... I don't think there's any question of the deal being dissolved.". However, he noted the risk of not being implemented as well "so one side won't do this, the other side won't do that, and ultimately the expectation that it would bring the two countries closer will not be realized".

Although Mr. Nimitz was aware of all the most serious violations and provocations on the part of Skopje, he nevertheless maintained a neutral stance stating that "one side won't do this, the other side won't do that" and in this way he put the two sides (Greece and Skopje) in the same sack. Thus it showed us that the USA does not wish to take measures against Skopje, for the violations of the Prespa Agreement, despite the decree of Biden, which provides for very serious sanctions for those who violate it. Therefore, the US supports Skopje whether it abides by the Prespa Agreement (previous government SDSM) or do not comply with it (current VMRO-DPMNE government).

On 7-7-2024 Mr. Mickoski was in Washington to participate for the first time in the NATO Summit and from there upload a video to X (formerly Twitter) stating among others the following^9,10: "I will still have meetings with business circles here in the US, where I will present the possibilities offered by the Μακεδονία for investments. I will also announce a new foreign investment from a company that is among the 500 largest here in the USA, new investments of tens of millions of euros and new jobs for its citizens Of Macedonia. This is the main priority of the new government in Μακεδονία. I would also like to mention that I will use the next few days in New York to meet with her Macedonian dispersion, them Macedonians Immigrants".

Mr. Mickoski brazenly and without "burning a nail" even from the capital of the USA in a single statement called his country "Macedonia" three times. In this way he showed in the most official way that the "North" does not have it abolish not only domestically but also abroad. He also described the diaspora of the Skopians as "Macedonian". Mr. Mickoski knows that the USA is on his side and he punches the Greek government in the face by dragging it internationally!

Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis also from Washington on 9-7-2024 speaking at the Council of Foreign Relations with the former US ambassador in Athens and CEO of Corus International Mr. Daniel Speckhardt stated the following among other things¹¹: "When I hear that the new government refers to the country as the Republic of Macedonia within the country, I have serious concerns".

While Mr Mickoski called Skopje plain "Macedonia" from abroad (Washington) ahead of the NATO Summit, Mr. Mitsotakis two days later, also from Washington and from the NATO Summit, stated that "has serious concerns" because Mr. Mickoski's government refers to Skopje as pure "Macedonia" on interior ("within the country"). Who is Mr. Mitsotakis kidding? Does he think we are that stupid? Since with his above statement, Mr. Mickoski has abolished the term "North" also abroad.

On 10-7-2024 Mr. Mickoski in new statements he made during his arrival at the NATO Summit stated, among other things, the following¹²: “For us, as a small nation, it is important these days to make those important decisions that will shape the future of humanity in the coming decades, something to which we will also contribute. THE Μακεδονία, as a country intends to continue to operate in this way and promote the values. As Macedonian government we want to stand side by side with our allies and affirm its libertarian spirit Macedonian people and of Macedonian citizens».

A few hours after the new statement of Mr. Mitsotakis, Mr. Mitsotakis attending the first session between NATO Allies at the Summit said the following¹³: "The full implementation of the Prespa Agreement is essential for the Alliance, for the Western Balkans and for the international community... Violation or selective implementation of the Prespa Agreement will undermine the credibility of all efforts to resolve other outstanding issues in the Western Balkans and will endanger stability and security in the region".

That is to say, while Mr. Mitsotakis continued to refer to Skopje as "Macedonia" and from the USA - in effect abolishing "North" abroad - Mr. Mitsotakis limited himself to wishful thinking saying that the Prespa Agreement must be implemented because otherwise stability etc. will be compromised. Words, words, words… Zero action. If he wanted to do something similar to what Mr. Mickoski did, he would have to denounce both Mr. Mickoski's behavior and the Prespa Agreement. But once again, Mr. Mitsotakis proved to be too little.

On 10-7-2024 the newspaper THE STEP in her publication she said⁷ that, «US diplomatic sources have stated that the Prespa issue is closed for the US and that they wish to see the region move forward. This practically means that they are not going to create a crisis in the relationship with Mickoski as long as his government keeps up the pretenses in relation to the Prespas. It is characteristic that one of these diplomatic sources appears to have said apparently jokingly that the US won't be patrolling when Mickowski goes on tour to see if he's using the right name».

The American ambassador to Greece, Mr. George Tsounis, in an interview with ERT that was broadcast on 11-7-2024, when he was asked by the Greek journalist if there is a way for NATO to bring the new government of Skopje into compliance so that it does not violate the Prespa Agreement , replied that "we all try, respectfully, to urge them to refer to their country by its constitutional name"¹⁴. Instead of saying that what the people of Skopje are doing is illegal and there will be sanctions, he said "we respectfully urge them" to observe the Prespa Agreement. Don't rip any tights!

However, the Skopje side adds new arguments to justify the violations it commits. So, while Mr. Mickoski has emphasized many times that he calls his country "Macedonia" because that is "his fundamental human right"¹⁵, in a recent statement the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Skopje, Mr. Timco Mucunski, said that "Article 7 (of the Prespa Agreement) clearly states that both parties can use both the term Macedonia and the term Macedonian", explaining that these terms have a different meaning for each party¹⁶. Therefore, instead of observing the Prespa Agreement, the people of Skopje find new excuses for the violations they are doing anyway.

In summary, we see that the leadership of Skopje has abolished the "North" and calls Skopje plainly "Macedonia", both inside and outside Skopje, the US not only does not intend to impose sanctions on the Skopians but supports them at the expense of their interests of Greece and finally Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis as a sad political figure is not capable of reacting and saving neither the honor of his homeland nor himself.

* Ioannis Ambatzoglou is a Radiophysicist of Medicine, Doctor of the Department of Medicine of DUTH, Scientific Head of the Department of Medical Physics of the University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis and President of Hellenism Committee.

photo https://www.rferl.org/a/un-notified-of-north-macedonia-s-name-change/29768586.html

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Ioannis Ambatzoglou

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