Greece responded to the press release from the Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, which said that the Prespa treaty is being imposed on Macedonia but also on Greece from the outside, in face of public opposition at home. According to the Greek Foreign Ministry, the agreement is “an internationally acclaimed model to resolve differences between two countries”.

We call on our international partners to respect the spirit and the content of the agreement, and to welcome the fact that the political leaderships of the two countries showed the necessary political courage to reach an agreement on an exceptionally difficult issue, at the same time defending their national interests, the Greek Ministry responded, also asking Russia to begin using “North Macedonia” when it refers to the Republic of Macedonia.

In its response, the Greek side also condemns the fact that Russia is commenting on internal political issues of other countries.

Russia called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the matter, given that the name issue was initiated in the UN and that there are UNSC resolutions that regulate the temporary reference for Macedonia. The Zaev and Tsipras governments opted not to ask for a UNSC resolution to accept the new name, and plan to merely “notify” the UN that the issue has been resolved.