Athens, 27 May 2024 (MIA) - The Prespa Agreement did not enter the pre-election agenda by decision of the Greek Government, because it had to react to the unacceptable, historically incorrect, and contrary to what was bilaterally agreed and voted on by both countries, Greece's government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said on Monday during a briefing with journalists, MIA’s Athens correspondent reports.

Seeing as Greece in a pre-election period ahead of the European elections on June 9, the Prespa Agreement is included in the speeches and interviews of the parties. In response to whether the specific topic will play a role in the results, Marinakis said that "the answer is subjective and refers to every voter individually," specifically, on the basis of which criteria they vote for, and added that as a government they stay on topics that have a European dimension.

"But, there are also pressing foreign and interior political issues that interest citizens. The previously mentioned issue did not enter the Government’s pre-election agenda. The Government's obligation was to react to the unacceptable, historically incorrect, and contrary to what was bilaterally agreed upon and voted by both countries, in accordance with the Prespa Agreement," Marinakis stressed.

Regarding the opposition party SYRIZA’s request to ratify the memoranda, Marinakis responded that "voters should be concerned with the main opposition's position," which instead of uniting with the national position "the country should not lose its negotiating weapons against its neighbors," and that the party is rushing and wants everything to be voted on already.

"At the moment, when our neighbors do not respect even the most basic demands, SYRIZA wants the Government to do everything, vote everything in, and ratify all memoranda accompanying the Prespa Agreement, one which refers to North Macedonia's EU integrations process. This is something that is good to emphasize in the run-up to the European elections," Marinakis added. ssh/sk/

Photo: MIA