PM designate pledges to call his country Macedonia

SKOPJE

North Macedonia's prime minister designate Hristijan Mickoski said he will continue calling his country Macedonia despite strong reactions from Greek officials.

The Balkan nation added "North" to its title to end a long-running dispute with Greece, following an historic agreement signed in 2018.

But Mickoski, the leader of right-wing VMRO-DPMNE party, claims he is not breaching the Prespa agreement signed between previous governments led by social-democrats in North Macedonia and the left in Greece.

He said he acknowledges the reality concerning the legal name of the country but that he will continue using Macedonia in his public appearances.

"My basic right is how am I going to call my state", he said on May 16 in front of the journalists in Skopje.

"If they [Greece] think that we have breached the Prespa agreement, there is an International court of Justice. They can start a process there and we will argue the facts. I wouldn't want that to happen," he added.

The old-new name row between the two Balkan neighbors reignited on May 12 with the inauguration of North Macedonia's first female president, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, who angered Greece after not acknowledging her country's new name during the swearing in office ceremony in the parliament.

Both countries have been in a decades-long dispute over the name and history, with Athens blocking Skopje's bid to join NATO and the European Union.

After the deal was struck, North Macedonia joined NATO in 2020.