Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev congratulated his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras on Friday over the Greek parliament ratifying the agreement between Athens and Skopje to rename the Republic of Macedonia to the Republic of Northern Macedonia
BELGRADE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th January, 2019) Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev congratulated his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras on Friday over the Greek parliament ratifying the agreement between Athens and Skopje to rename the Republic of Macedonia to the Republic of Northern Macedonia.Earlier in the day, 153 lawmakers in the 300-seat legislative body ratified the deal to change Macedonia's name.
"Congratulations my friend @tsipras_eu, together with our peoples we reached a historical victory. Long live the Prespa Agreement! For eternal peace and progress of the Balkans and in Europe!" Zaev wrote on Twitter.
The agreement, which Athens and Skopje signed on June 17, 2018, on the Greek shore of Lake Prespa, is called the Prespa Agreement. It resolves the longstanding dispute between the two countries and is supposed to lift the veto on Macedonian entry to the European Union and NATO.
The Macedonian parliament approved a constitutional amendment to rename the country on January 11. All the articles that could be interpreted as territorial claims against Greece were removed at Athens' request.
