Kotzias: I would apply more pressure over Zaev for his recent statements

Macedonian PM Zoran Zaev’s recent statements damage the process of implementation of the Prespa Agreement, said the former Greek FM Nikos Kotzias in an interview for the Greek TV Antenna. At the debate in the Macedonian parliament over the constitutional changes predicted with the Prespa Agreement, PM Zaev commented that the agreement will open the possibility for Macedonian language to be taught in schools in Greece, which provoked a series of negative reactions in Greece. “The matter which languages are to be taught in Greece is only ours to deal with and no one else from outside can interfere. If I were in the Greek government now, I would have applied pressure on Zaev form all sides possible, from the EU, from NATO and from UN Mediator Matthew Nimetz. Because of situations like this one, changes to the Article 49 of the Constitution of Skopje are more than necessary, in order to eliminate all possibilities for irredentism from Skopje towards its neighbours, especially towards Greece,” Kotzias said. The article 49 of the Constitution of Macedonia, which claims that “Macedonia will take care of the Macedonians in the neighbouring countries”, was one of the most disputed segments in the name issue between the two countries, and is about to undergo changes with the amendments for changes to the Constitution of Macedonia, included in the Prespa Agreement.