With a lot of audacity, the Macedonian undertakers, Tsipras and Kotzias, took part in an event for the Prespa Agreement on the day that marked exactly six years since its signing.
On June 17 and 18, the International Conference on Peace and Sustainable Development of the Alexis Tsipras Institute and the Zoran Zaev Foundation was held in Athens1. The first day of the conference was dedicated to the Prespa Agreement, where among others the contributors to the agreement, Tsipras, Zaev, Kotzias and Dimitrov, spoke, while the Prespa Peace Prize was awarded to Matthew Nimitz.
That day, Mr. Zaev made some statements to Vergina TV, which are of great interest. Below is part of the dialogue between Vergina TV journalist Ms. Sofia Galani and Mr. Zoran Zaef2.
Z. Zaev: "I hope that the new government, which comes next weekend in North Macedonia - which was and is against the agreement - will not change the agreement. They do not threaten to destroy her. They announced that they would accept it. They also announced that we will use "North Macedonia" in writing. It is a problem that they do not verbally adhere to it in public and do not refer to our constitutional name. This is not smart. I am texting all of them bearing in mind that I am one of the people involved in this deal. Leaders care about the future, and after they don't threaten to destroy the deal, after deciding to use "North Macedonia" in writing... We must communicate with "North Macedonia" (means saying it orally), that's what leaders do. And so my suggestion is that they use it, because otherwise we will probably stop joining the European Union. There will likely be a revival of hostility with our neighbors, not just Greece. For example, we will have problems with the countries of the European Union, we will have a problem with the USA. We will have trouble with all our allies. Why; …Don't open Pandora's box."
Journalist: "Shouldn't this deal be canceled?"
Z. Zaev: "In the modern world, in the 21st century, if you don't respect something, you destroy it. They don't want to ruin it». [Mr. Zaev's words, exactly as he reported them in English, were as follows: «if you donation't respect something, you destroy it. They donation't want to destroy»].
Z. Zaev: "They follow the agreement on "North Macedonia" in writing and everything according to the agreement, but they do not want to communicate (meaning they don't say it verbally). I hope they will be smarter and communicate (it means that they will use "North Macedonia" also orally). Because it's not a matter of them breaking the law. The point is not that they are violating the agreement, the international agreement. They are violating our Constitution.”
We see that in the dialogue above, Mr. Zaev several times referred to "disaster" (destroy) of the Prespa Agreement, if the new political leadership of Skopje does not adhere to it verbally as well. But when he talks about the destruction of the agreement, he admits that this agreement is cancelled, he even warns that it might "open pandora's box". Therefore, according to Mr. Zoran Zaev, the Prespa Agreement is annulled. In particular, its cancellation, in his opinion, will occur if Mr. Mickoski (then Prime Minister of Skopje), Ms. Silianovska (president of Skopje) and in general the members of VMRO-DPMNE continue not to adhere to it in their oral reason to call their state simply "Macedonia", as they have been doing until now.
And here, in Greece, the ruling parties (SYRIZA and ND), for six years, have been selling us the fairy tale that the Prespa Agreement is impossible to cancel. The one who signed it from the Skopje side (Zoran Zaev) tells us that it is cancelled, and the Greek politicians tell us that it is not cancelled. In the end, more truths come from the mouths of Skopje politicians than from their Greek colleagues. Zoran Zaev's revelation that the Prespa Agreement is being canceled was one positive thing that came out of the Tsipras-Zaev conference in Athens.
- https://www.tovima.gr/2024/06/17/politics/live-i-diethnis-diaskepsi-gia-tin-eirini-kai-ti-viosimi-anaptyksi-tou-institoutou-tsipra/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPLbEB-PJmo
* 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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Visit of Minister of Foreign Affairs, N. Kotzias to Macedonia – Meeting of Minister of Foreign Affairs, N. Kotzias, with Prime Minister of Macedonia, Z. Zaev (23.03.2018), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/
