Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias and his German counterpart Heiko Maas agreed during their meeting in Athens on Thursday that the Prespa Agreement signed by Athens and Skopje was an “historic opportunity” for a solution to the name dispute and was “forward-looking,” promoting the security and development of the Balkans and Europe.
“It is a historic opportunity and, I have to say, that without (Kotzias’) personal commitment and the persistence and patience shown by both sides we would never have gotten there; this is something that may not please everyone but is, nevertheless, a sign of responsible policy-making,” Maas said.
The Greek foreign minister expressed his conviction that the agreement will be supported by voters in the upcoming referendum in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) with the required turnout, estimating that the process of changing the neighboring country’s constitution will be completed by mid-January 2019.
Following this, the agreement would be submitted to the Greek parliament for ratification, along with the ratification of NATO’s decision to grant FYROM membership, Kotzias added.
He was also confident that the agreement will be supported in the Greek Parliament, expressing hope that both center-left Kinima Allagis party and main opposition New Democracy will vote in favor of the agreement.
With information from A.M.N.A.
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