Athens, 13 May 2024 (MIA) - Greek Government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis reaffirmed Monday the importance of implementing the Prespa Agreement as an international obligation between the two countries, and the position that Greece has continuity and must respect what was agreed upon, MIA reports from Athens.

Considering the statements by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis that bilateral relations with North Macedonia and its European path depend on the full implementation of the Prespa Agreement, Spokesperson Marinakis was quizzed during a press briefing whether this would mean Greece vetoing the country's European perspective.

"We are not at that point yet, but it is clear and does not need much interpretation - a necessary prerequisite for North Macedonia's integration process is implementing the Prespa Agreement," Marinakis said.

He also repeated what the Greek PM wrote on Facebook this morning, that President Siljanovska Davkova's attitude during the inauguration was "provocative, insulting and that it breaches the Prespa Agreement," an agreement which, according to him, "once it was voted on, is binding for both countries - Greece and North Macedonia to implement it."

"This is a fact for which there are not many interpretations, fully supported by the presidents of the European Commission and European Council who reacted quickly, illustrating our country's reflexes and international influence, which is not to be underestimated, because Greece was once the black sheep of Europe," Marinakis stressed.

Marinakis reminded of New Democracy’s position when it was in the opposition, and referred to Kyriakos Mitsotakis' tweet from January 24, 2019, as the leader of the then-opposition, which states that “once ratified, the Prespa Agreement cannot be annulled because it supersedes any other law".

"As opposition, we did not hide and expressed our serious objections to the Prespa Agreement and voted against, which we do not regret. We continue to have the opinion but fully respect what our country signed and what the Parliament voted for, and as a serious country we have an obligation to implement it, as we said from the very beginning," Marinakis stated.

He also pointed out they expect "the other side to respect the agreement," and that Greece would do the same "as a country with continuity".

In response to a journalist's question about the three memoranda with North Macedonia that have not yet been ratified in the Greek Parliament, Marinakis directed the question to the opposition party SYRIZA, which raised the topic again.

"We sincerely ask both the opposition and citizens, would it have been better if the memoranda had been adopted, considering the statement from North Macedonia's President? Maybe it is better they haven't been voted yet? We are sincere and clear, we have to implement the Prespa Agreement, but the vote on the memoranda depends on the other side and their consistency towards international obligations," highlighted Marinakis. ssh/ik/

Photo: MIA