Zoran Zaev insisted today that the Prespa treaty he signed with Alexis Tsipras and imposed on Macedonia in violation of the will of the people, can not be altered by the next Macedonian Government.

Large majorities in both Macedonia and Greece opposed the treaty, as did the opposition parties in both countries. Zaev insisted that when the people see the benefits from the treaty, the opposition will evaporate.

All who have reservations about the treaty will see the energy facilities, the factories in both countries, that growing commercial exchange, the two new border crossings, tourism… I believe that this will bring benefits and we will ensure that we win over the antagonists and make them supporters of the treaty, Zaev said.

Opposition presidential candidate Gordana Siljanovska – Davkova yesterday said that the name “North Macedonia” is rootless and has no future, and will be overturned by a future Parliament and Constitutional Court.

According to Zaev, the treaty is tied to the NATO and EU membership, which makes it inviolable. He said that he hopes the opposition parties in both countries don’t become ruling parties any time soon, but when they do, “they would not want to end NATO membership and stop EU accession talks”.

The Greek opposition New Democracy party already announced it will block Macedonia’s EU accession regardless of the Prespa treaty. Meanwhile, former Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski described a perspective in which Macedonia uses precisely its prospect as a NATO and possibly EU member state, to re-open the issue from a more favorable position.