Tsipras, Zaev announce committee on commercial brand issues

Amidst a flurry of Greek press reports criticising the ambiguities and potential traps of the Greece-North Macedonia Prespa Agreement, PM Alexis Tsipras and his North Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev attempted to allay fears regarding the use of the brand "Macedonian" by both sides, announcing a joint committee to review the related issues at a joint press conference today.

Tsipras' visit was the first by a sitting Prime Minister to Greece's northern neighbour and the international press welcomed it as "historic".

Tsipras dismissed the negative Greek press reports and the criticism of main opposition New Democracy as "hypocrisy and fake news", and he maintained that the accord effectively addresses problems that have festered for 30 years.

The committee will be established in May and will be tasked with resolving problems between businesses and with consumers on both sides of the border and internationally.

"Both in North Macedonia and in Greece we are confronted by the phenomenon of fake news. In Greece, they suddenly discovered that problems exist. They have existed for the last 30 years, and this agreement resolves them," Tsipras said.

"The Prespa Agreement provides the method for resolving open issues such as that of commercial brands. The agreement provides for the creation of a task force that will be called upon to thrash out these issues. We have some people in Greek Macedonia who do not support the Prespa Agreement but who for many years traded here [in North Macedonia]. They are hypocrites," the PM declared.

Zaev: Three-year process

For his part, Zaev noted that the committee that will hammer out agreements will have three years to complete their task. It is unclear how bilateral or...