Stern message sent to Skopje

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has warned newly sworn-in North Macedonia President Gordana Siljanovska that further violations of the name agreement signed between the two countries would threaten Skopje's European Union membership ambitions.

In a social media post written Monday in response to Siljanovska's reference on Sunday to her country as "Macedonia" instead of its constitutional name "North Macedonia," Mitsotakis said her "provocative decision… to violate the official text of her oath and refer to her country by a different name constitutes an illegal and unacceptable initiative."

"It breaches the Prespes Agreement and the constitution of her state. It also undermines its future prospects," Mitsotakis said.

"It's well known that as the opposition, New Democracy voted against the 2019 agreement. In fact, it warned at that time about the problems that...