Zaev and Tsipras nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Socialists and Democrats, Greens and United Left

Prime Ministers Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras have been nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize by the leader of the EU parliament Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group Udo Bullmann, of the Greens/European Free Alliance (EFA) Ska Keller and of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) Gabbi Zimmer, Greek news agency ANA-MPA reported on Saturday.

In a joint statement they stressed that “the Prespa Agreement between Greece and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia puts an end to a log-lasting dispute and brings stability to the western Balkan region.”

They noted that the Prespa Agreement, which has been ratified by the parliaments of both countries, is “a model for peacefully resolving international problems through dialogue and mutual compromise. Prime Ministers Zoran Zaev and Alexis Tsipras had the political courage to go ahead with the agreement despite the nationalist opposition.”

In their joint statement, Keller, Bullmann and Zimmer said, “for all these reasons, we support Nobel Prize winner’s Wided Bouchamaoui nomination of Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev for the 2019 Peace Nobel Prize.”

“Now we will finally be able to say: Welcome to the Republic of North Macedonia,” said head of the Group Udo Bullmann in a written message, adding that the ratification proves that progressive political powers are able to resolve long-standing disagreements and to make difficult compromises that nationalists or conservatives failed to achieve for nearly three decades.