In a move expected to stir diplomatic tensions, the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, reiterated claims that the “Macedonian issue” remains unresolved. Speaking at an event in Skopje marking the one-year anniversary of the “White Sea Reading Room-Club”, Mickoski declared:

“The Macedonian issue is not closed. One day it will be brought to the table of the world’s great powers, and I am convinced that through the strength of our arguments, we will restore everything we have lost — not just in recent years, but perhaps over decades and even centuries. I’m not certain that our generation — which I lead — will achieve this, but I’m sure we will lay the foundation so that future generations, building on what we do today, will succeed.”

Mickoski’s comments echo similar statements made in January during a gathering of diaspora members in New Jersey, where he again insisted that the Macedonian question is a “real and unresolved issue.”

The Prime Minister, who leads the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party, continues to use the name “Macedonia” when referring to his country, as do members of his cabinet — a move that openly disregards the terms of the Prespa Agreement, signed with Greece in 2018, which formally established the country’s name as “Republic of North Macedonia.”

Adding to the provocation, the event at which Mickoski spoke was attended by descendants of Slavic-speaking political refugees who settled in the region after the Greek Civil War. In nationalist circles in North Macedonia, the Greek region of Macedonia is often referred to as the “Aegean Macedonia” or “White Sea Macedonia” — terms that are seen as revisionist and inflammatory by Greece.