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Greece argued the term “Macedonia” implied territorial claims on its province of the same name, which is the birthplace of the ancient warrior king Alexander the Great, and usurped its ancient Greek heritage and history.
The deal was met with fury by critics in both countries, who accuse their respective prime ministers of conceding too much.
A Greek Orthodox monk waves a Greek flag during a protest against the agreement between Greece and Macedonia over dispute of the former Yugoslav’s republic name, outside the Greek Parliament, in Athens, Saturday.
Photo: AP
“Hatred toward the country of another is not patriotism,” Tsipras said during his speech in parliament.
The agreement was to be signed Sunday morning by the two nations’ foreign ministers at Lake Prespa near their common border. Both prime ministers were to attend the ceremony, as were European officials. Protests have been called in both countries.
Speaking during the debate, Defence Minister and Independent Greeks head Panos Kammenos stressed that voting against the no-confidence motion was not a vote in favour of the Macedonia name deal, which he vowed to reject when it is eventually brought to parliament.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, right, chats with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias during a parliamentary session, in Athens, on Saturday.
Photo: AP
Tsipras stressed the deal met all of Greece’s demands and would close “the open wound that has been troubling our country for more than 26 years.”
Conservative New Democracy party leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who had brought the no-confidence motion, argued that a vote in favour of the government was a vote in favour of the name deal.
“Today you are all mortgaging the future of the country,” he told MPs.
Across the border, Zaev has also met with opposition, with President Gjorge Ivanov saying he will not sign off on the agreement. Zaev has said he will put it to a referendum in the autumn.
“With the signing of the agreement between Macedonia and Greece, everyone will benefit,” Zaev said on Saturday.
A flare thrown by protesters highlights riot police guarding the parliament during a demonstration against the agreement between Greece and Macedonia over a dispute of the former Yugoslav’s republic name, in Athens, on Saturday.
Photo: AP
Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov stressed the deal would pave the way for NATO and EU accession.
“We have forces that are fighting for the future, we have forces that are fighting for the past,” Dimitrov said in Skopje. “We cannot change the past, we could the future.”
The ratification process will take months.
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In Macedonia, the agreement must clear the hurdles of parliamentary ratification, a referendum and a constitutional amendment. If Ivanov refuses to sign off on the deal, it will be sent back to parliament for a second vote. If it passes again, the president must sign it.
In Greece, the deal faces ratification in parliament only after Macedonia has completed its part of the process.
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