US expresses strong support for Prespes agreement

US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell described the Prespes agreement as “historic” after a meeting with Nikola Dimitrov, the foreign minister of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), on Tuesday.

“I want to congratulate Minister Dimitrov on the historic agreement that Greece and Macedonia have reached at Prespa,” Mitchell said. Since 2004, the US has recognized FYROM as the “Republic of Macedonia.”

He praised Dimitrov as an architect of the agreement, reiterated US support for the deal, expressed his optimism about the successful holding of the referendum in FYROM and relayed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s expectation that “Macedonia” would be welcomed into NATO.

Earlier, a State Department statement issued after Pompeo’s meeting with Dimitrov said the latter “expressed his support for the Prespa Agreement, the implementation of which will allow the country to join NATO as North Macedonia and facilitate the opening of accession negotiations with the European Union.”

Pompeo “congratulated his counterpart on the historic Prespa Agreement between Macedonia and Greece,” the statement said.

The two ministers also discussed the next steps in the implementation of the agreement, including the upcoming September 30 referendum in FYROM.