Zaev: ‘Republic of Ilinden Macedonia’ name proposal still in play

“Macedonia has not dismissed the ‘Republic of Ilinden Macedonia’ proposal,” PM Zoran Zaev said in response to a reporter’s question in front of Skopje’s Criminal Court on Monday.

The proposal, according to Zaev, is worth careful consideration, as it fulfills the expectations of most citizens in both countries.

“Republic of Ilinden Macedonia, Zaev said, “is a name that doesn’t threaten Macedonian identity—on the contrary, it strengthens it—while giving Greece a compound name with a chronological identifier.”

He said that Greek PM Tsipras and himself fully believed in this solution, but they were only one link in the chain.

“As Zoran and Alexis, we’ve been called to carry out the process as PMs. At the very outset, we said there was an option that could be acceptable to both sides.

“There are institutional processes related to making decisions. On their part, their Parliament needs to ratify the possible agreement, and on our part, we need the approval from Parliament and citizens through a referendum,” Zaev pointed out.

According to him, Ilinden of 1903 and 1944 has nothing to do with territorial pretensions and is no threat to Greece in any way. He said the talks would continue, asserting his belief that the proposal was the solution to end the 25-year dispute.

“It keeps our dignity intact, while fixing the identity issues and meeting their conditions,” Zaev said.