On the eve of the summit in Washington, Olton Bjuland, the chief director for Europe and NATO at the Pentagon, emphasized the need for Western Balkan countries to undertake necessary reforms to join the EU. He warned that the lengthy integration process could be exploited by Russia and other malign actors to stir discontent among the populace.

Bjuland declined to comment on statements made by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova regarding the use of the constitutional name of their state in official contexts, while using the name Macedonia as an act of personal right to self-determination and self-identification. He stated that such questions should be addressed by the State Department.

On June 19, the Voice of America in Macedonian asked the State Department if Mickoski’s use of two names for the country—Macedonia domestically and North Macedonia abroad—was an attempt to create a false impression of compliance with the Prespa Agreement. The State Department responded that “the statement of the mandate holder Mickoski that he will use the constitutional name of the state in all official contexts is in line with the Prespa Agreement.”