European Union candidate North Macedonia on Monday sought to calm disputes with EU neighbors Greece and Bulgaria, which erupted after the landslide election victory of a conservative-backed coalition and president.
North Macedonia changed its name from Macedonia after a historic 2018 agreement with Greece that ended a years-long dispute over the name, which Greece had claimed for one of its regions. At a swearing-in ceremony on Sunday, President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova referred to her country as “Macedonia,” prompting a heated response from Athens.
NORTH MACEDONIA VOTES IN THE SECOND PRESIDENTIAL ROUND AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the comments “illegal and unacceptable” in an online post on Monday, adding: “We categorically declare that we will not accept any more missteps of this nature.”
Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, the new president of North Macedonia, poses for cameras at the entrance to the presidential palace in Skopje, North Macedonia, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Siljanovska Davkova was sworn in as the first female president in North Macedonia on Sunday after his victory in a presidential runoff earlier this week over the left-wing incumbent president. (AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski)
Siljanovska-Davkova's comments also sparked criticism from the European Commission and a warning from Bulgaria that North Macedonia would be bound by the terms of international agreements it had signed.
The president's office said Monday that Siljanovska-Davkova would respect the country's international obligations, but added that she retains “the right to use the name Macedonia as a personal right of self-identification.”
The geographic region of Macedonia is divided by the national borders of Greece, Bulgaria and North Macedonia. The dispute over the name delayed the former Yugoslav republic's long-standing efforts to join the European Union and NATO.
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The country joined the military alliance in 2020.
North Macedonia's conservative VMRO-DPMNE won a landslide presidential and parliamentary election last week and is set to lead the next government after emerging from years in opposition.
