Republic of Macedonia

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives at a historic visit to Skopje, the World Agencies have reported.
 
This is the first visit of a Greek prime minister to the former Yugoslav republic. According to France Press this is the first Greek leader in Skopje in many years.

Seeking to mitigate the negative reactions to the Prespes agreement at home, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras aims to highlight its prospects during his visit Tuesday to North Macedonia with an entourage of around 70 businessmen and 10 cabinet ministers.

Regardless of what one thinks about the name deal signed and ratified earlier this year by the Greek government and North Macedonia, the so-called Prespes agreement has left a number of serious issues unresolved.

North Macedonia's Prime Minister, Zoran Zaev, has said that he agreed to change his country's name and Constitution because PM Alexis Tsipras accepted the existence of a "Macedonian identity".

In a debate with opposition VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski, Zaev also noted that Tsipras had initially accepted the name Republic of Ilinden Macedonia.

Election authorities in North Macedonia say three people, including a law professor who is the country's first female candidate, will run for president of the newly renamed country in April 21 elections.

Amid reactions in Greece over frequent references made in North Macedonia to a Macedonian language, the neighboring country's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Wednesday that the name of the language was accepted in the Prespes agreement, which was ratified this year by the two parliaments.

The Russian Federation has recognised the Republic of North Macedonia by its new constitutional name.
Russia was the first major power to recognise the country by its constitutional name of Republic of Macedonia in August, 1992 after the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

The public admission by Citizen's Protection Minister Olga Gerovasili that citizens are under surveillance is indicative of the deeply undemocratic menality of certain members of the government.

Either the minister has no cognizance of what she said or she is dangerous in the office that she occupies.

With elections looming, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his aides are reportedly examining ways of stemming resentment in northern Greece toward the government over the Prespes agreement that resolved the name dispute with North Macedonia.

North Macedonia's Foreign Minister, Nikola Dimitrov, has said Greece has enhanced its status by negotiating and ratifying the Prespes Agreement that gave his country a new name.

Speaking at the Delphi Economic Forum Friday, Dimitrov said that the way a country treats its weaker neighbors says a lot about its character.