Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi caused a scandal when he lashed out at a journalist who referred to him as a “Macedonian minister”.

I’m sorry, I’m a minister of North Macedonia. I’m not Macedonian, I am Albanian, Bekteshi said.

Using the term Macedonian to refer to official is standard practice, and does not imply ethnicity. Bekteshi defended himself saying that he was not trying to be ethnically divisive but that he wanted to avoid violating the Prespa Treaty, which requires using the imposed name “North Macedonia” for officials.