Athens, 14 May 2024 (MIA) — Greece understands that North Macedonia's new leadership may be ideologically opposed to the country's new constitutional name, but this is not a matter of politicians' self-determination – it is a matter of honoring an agreement, Greece's Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said Tuesday in an interview with Greek national broadcaster ERT, pointing out that officials need to fully abide by the legally binding Prespa Agreement, MIA's Athens correspondent reports.

The top Greek diplomat said that "from the moment an international agreement is ratified by Parliaments, it acquires a power higher than laws and none of the two sides can unilaterally revise it." Even if they disagree with the agreement, he said, "they must implement it."

"The name Republic of North Macedonia in the Prespa Agreement, in line with Article 20, cannot be changed under any circumstances," he said.

"The name issue is not one that can be changed, even by mutual consent. So, there is no question of amendments anywhere. As agreed by both sides and ratified, it binds both the current Greek political order and the political order of North Macedonia," Gerapetritis said.

Speaking on the possibility of Greece vetoing the country's European perspective, the Greek FM said a veto was an "EU member state's institutional right" and reiterated that compliance with the Prespa Agreement was a prerequisite for progress toward the Union.

"For North Macedonia, the consistent implementation of the Prespa Agreement is a clear prerequisite for its integration course," he said, adding that Greece was closely following the latest developments.

Commenting on the quick reaction of both Greece and the EU to the new President's use of the old name, Gerapetritis said the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately informed the European authorities and it was "a coordinated reaction toward alignment."

In the Tueday morning interview with ERT, Gerapetritis reiterated several times that they demanded that "the other side be aligned with the Prespa Agreement." He also pointed out that although New Democracy as an opposition had a different position on the deal, now, as a Government, they were implementing it "as part of the state's continuity and the constitutional mandate that no Government can unilaterally revise any agreements."

On the three memorandums that have not yet been ratified in the Greek Parliament, the foreign minister said recent developments justified this and added that their ratification depended on the full compliance with the agreement.

"Parliament will adopt them at the key political time, when the Greek side is convinced there is a complete alignment. We all know there are points the neighboring country has not aligned with," Greece's top diplomat said. mr/