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Ekathimerini (8 June 2019)

North Macedonia officials appear confident that a political changeover in Greece, presaged by SYRIZA’s resounding defeat in European elections, will not have too big an impact on the name settlement reached between Athens and Skopje a year ago, barring some setbacks on technical aspects of the deal.

“We can expect some bilateral disagreements and obstacles but I do not think that our southern neighbor [Greece] would behave in a radical way as to harm the process,” the country’s former ambassador to NATO, Nano Ruzin, said.

According to a report in the pro-government newspaper Sloboden Pechat, a leadership change in Greece would not upset the Prespes accord, but it could still impact on negotiations regarding history and trademark issues on which North Macedonia could be forced “to make concessions.”

Speaking to Kathimerini, New Democracy’s shadow foreign minister Giorgos Koumoutsakos said that, if it becomes government, the conservative party will do everything in its power “to dampen the negative consequences of the deal” which he described as “damaging.”

He added that Greece retained veto powers courtesy of being a full member of the European Union.

http://www.ekathimerini.com/241388/article/ekathimerini/news/north-macedonia-officials-fine-with-prospect-of-nd-government