The signing ceremony of the agreement on the new name of Macedonia in a few days: VMRO said it would not support the new name of the country

The signing ceremony of the agreement between Athens and Skopje on the new name of the Republic of Northern Macedonia will be held in the next few days, the Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov said.

It is official! The new name of Macedonia will be the Republic of Northern Macedonia

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The government in Skopje should adopt the draft agreement, and we will also see what will happen in Athens, given the political turbulence in the country, Dimitrov told Deutsche Welle, commenting on the possibility that the agreement will be signed this weekend in the Greek part of the Prespa region.

He also said the signing ceremony will be attended by senior international officials, such as EU foreign policy and security minister Federica Mogherini and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the MIA reports.

- We all want Macedonia to move forward, that our identity is protected, affirmed, promoted. I believe it will be easier to smooth out the differences if we unite around this principle. Maybe over the years, Macedonia has had the opportunity for a better agreement. We, however, did not have the courage to get rid of this weight that dragged us down. And now there is a government that is thinking where Macedonia will be in 10 or 20 years. Our task as politicians, and politics is the art of possibility, is to see the problem, find a solution and offer it to citizens - Dimitrov said in connection with a short meeting with President Djordje Ivanov, who rejected the agreement on the new name.

No Macedonian official or institution can replace the public's opinion on this issue, as citizens are the ones who decide on their future, Dimitrov added, MIA reports.

Foto: Tanjug/ Sava Radovanovic

- It's time for leadership. We must allow citizens to express their opinion on the opportunity that we have created. It is not easy, and I believe that courage means having the ability to face and deal with the problem. If there are other, alternative paths towards the future, it would be nice to hear about them - said the head of Macedonian diplomacy.

VMRO-DPMNE WILL NOT VOTE FOR THE AGREEMENT

The opposition party VMRO-DPMNE and their parliamentary group in the assembly will not support the revision of the Constitution to change the name of the country and will organize a protest march on Sunday, party leader Hristijan Mickoski announced.

The Executive Committee of the party unanimously concluded that the agreement on the new name is completely contrary to the national interests of Macedonia, he added, according to the agency MIA.

Foto: Tanjug/AP

He also asked the government how it intends for the parliament to adopt an agreement on the name by a simple majority if at the same time it states that it plans to propose constitutional amendments requiring a two-thirds majority.

Mickoski said that VMRO-DPMNE will celebrate its birthday in Bitola on Sunday with a protest march inviting all citizens.

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(Telegraf.co.uk / Tanjug)