The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is willing to cross all “red lines” in order to find a solution that will satisfy both sides on the name issue, said the Balkan country’s Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.
In an interview on Greece’s Alpha television that was aired on Sunday, the FYROM leader said that he is convinced a solution on the name issue will be found within the next six months, and that he is willing to make compromises to that end.
“I will not present any red lines, because red lines obstruct us from solving problems. I will use other methods so that the red lines become the light that will get us out of the darkness of the problem,” Zaev said.
The FYROM prime minister said that he is glad that the junior coalition partner Panos Kammenos changed his position and stated that he will accept a composite name if political leaders decide in favor of such name.
When asked if he is willing to change the name of the Skopje international airport (“Alexander the Great”), Zaev replied that he is willing to discuss it with his people, if that is so important for Greece. He said that he does not believe that his country is the only heir of Alexander the Great.
“I have said it publicly, because I believe more in the future of our own state than to be entrenched by the prejudices of the past, because I know that the Alexander the Great would be the one that would unite us, not the element of division,” he said, adding that what is most important for him is to establish a mutual friendship between the two countries.
The FYROM prime minister also expressed the wish to meet with Panos Kammenos and main opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, after he meets in person with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
Zaev further said that his country’s strategic goal is to join the EU and NATO. “We have succeeded in liberating an isolated country which in the past was actually imprisoned in the idea of nationalism, corruption and criminality, controlled by the previous government.”
“It is time for us to show a new face in Europe and the Balkans, leaving behind our reservations and historical prejudices about what is good for the people and good neighborly relations,” he underlined.
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