Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis again warned North Macedonia that the violation of The Prespa agreement, which resolved the long-standing dispute over the name between the two neighbors, will threaten the ambitions of the Balkan country for EU membership, the Greek newspaper "Kathimerini" quoted him as saying.
Speaking from the northern Greek town of Veria while campaigning ahead of June's European Parliament elections, Mitsotakis said the three memoranda of understanding related to the 2018 agreement would not be ratified by parliament until the new leadership in Skopje continues to violate it.
"If some believe they can ignore the agreement, they should understand that their path to Europe will remain closed and the memorandums will not be ratified unless there is compliance with what the agreement provides," he said.
The rise in tension came after the newly elected president of the RSM called the country "Macedonia", renewing the dispute with Athens over the name.
Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova - who won the support of a resurgent nationalist party in last week's vote - mentioned Macedonia's former name during her inauguration on Sunday. In this way, it violated the agreement between Athens and Skopje, reached with the mediation of the UN.
Both countries want the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia to be called "Northern Macedonia" after long and contentious negotiations in 2018, not just "Macedonia", which Athens says implies territorial claims to a Greek region of the same name.
It seems that Skopje has not had enough of the blockade by Bulgaria and entered into a confrontation with Greece, which until that moment, albeit reservedly, supported the start of negotiations in substance for European membership.
We remind you that the agreement with Bulgaria is also among the problematic topics for the winner of the VMRO-DPMNE elections.
"We will take care of our tasks here and we will wait, we will wait for someone sensible (in Sofia - ed.) with whom we can talk. I don't see what Bulgaria has given up on. A bilateral treaty being part of a negotiating framework with the EU is a precedent. Good neighborly relations are something different and are determined by international criteria.
These were part of the main messages of the leader of the VMRO-DPMNE party that won the elections in Skopje, Hristiyan Mitskoski. He gave an interview to the Macedonian TV channel "Kanal 5".
Mitskoski also commented on the position of acting Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, that Bulgaria will not make any more concessions to North Macedonia.
North Macedonia has begun negotiations to join the EU in 2022. To meet the requirements, it must meet certain criteria, including changing its constitution to recognize a Bulgarian minority, a hotly contested issue in the country.
The former president of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, strongly condemned Bulgaria's actions regarding North Macedonia's membership in the European Union (EU). However, he made a request to the authorities to maintain good relations with the neighbors because it is in the interest of Skopje.