After Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev agreed to rename his country Northern Macedonia, President Gjorge Ivanov declared he would not sign off on the deal with Greece. The Greek government faces troubles of its own.
The proposed deal between Skopje and Athens on adopting the name “Republic of Northern Macedonia” for the country formally known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) is “unacceptable,” Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov said on Wednesday.
Only a day before, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and his foreign minister, Nikola Dimitrov announced the deal with their Greek counterparts to end the decades-long name dispute, which had prompted Greece to block Macedonia’s efforts in joining NATO and the EU.
President Ivanov, who holds a largely ceremonial post in the Balkan country, broke off a Wednesday meeting with Zaev and Dimitrov in which he was set to hear the arguments in favor of changing the name.
Read more: Macedonia’s Zaev says name change to be put to public vote
Ivanov then told the public the deal was a “personal” matter of Zaev and Dimitrov and accused them of not seeking to reach consensus on the issue.
“The text of the agreement is disastrous,” Ivanov said. “Is it really patriotism to give Greece everything it asks for, while we get nothing?”
‘I won’t be intimidated’
Ivanov also said the agreement was deleting the history of the 2-million-strong country, which seceded from former Yugoslavia in 1991. He added that joining NATO and the EU could not be used as justifications to sign a “damaging” deal.
“The people, wherever they are, should not be afraid,” he said. “My decision is final and I won’t be intimidated by any threats or blackmail.”
Read more: Macedonia: What’s in a name?
The Macedonian president, originally backed by the right-wing VMRO-DPMNE party, has had a bumpy relationship with Zaev and his Social Democratic Union of Macedonia.
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