Zoran Zaev had an address before the United Nations General Assembly, promoting for the first time the imposed name “North Macedonia”. The Prime Minister celebrated the fact that Macedonia was renamed and insisted that it will improve relations in the region.

We finally completed our identity card in the United Nations, Zaev said, before insisting that, according to the treaty he signed, the language should still be called Macedonian, while the nationality should now be “Macedonian/citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia”.

Historically, Macedonian leaders have used the annual UN assembly to promote the right of the Macedonian people to their own name and identity, as Macedonians, and the right to join international organizations under that name and identity. Zaev’s speech is the first that breaks with that practice, and comes after he imposed amendments to the Constitution to rename Macedonia.

We now have exceptionally good relations with Greece and this contributes to regional stability and will spur development of the Western Balkans. I want to underline that we are grateful to the United Nations for their support, through the 20 years of dedicated work by the special representative Matthew Nimetz. We believe that the Prespa treaty is a true example of the power of diplomacy and dialogue and will be a useful example to resolve many other open issues, Zaev added.