British expert: Skopje-Athens agreement fair and balanced

The Skopje-Athens name agreement is fair and balanced, representing a very important step, says James , expert on Southeast Europe at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

“Being a person dealing with the Western Balkans and wishing to see the area in the EU, I know how important is this step,” sayd Ker-Lindsay.

According to him, North Macedonia is a very good, reasonable and balanced solution, while many people in Macedonia are aware that the country cannot join EU and NATO without a name change.

“Both countries are aware that if any of them rejects the agreement, real problems will surface, whereas the international community will be unhappy about it,” adds Ker-Lindsay.

He says that Russia will not be overjoyed about the name agreement, simply because one of the first effects will be Macedonia’s NATO accession.

“Russia is obviously not happy when countries join NATO,” concludes Ker-Lindsay.