Zoran Zaev
MP
Зоран Заев
Official portrait, 2020
8th Prime Minister of North Macedonia
In office
30 August 2020 – 16 January 2022
PresidentStevo Pendarovski
Preceded byOliver Spasovski
Succeeded byDimitar Kovačevski
In office
31 May 2017 – 3 January 2020
PresidentGjorge Ivanov
Stevo Pendarovski
Preceded byEmil Dimitriev
Succeeded byOliver Spasovski[1]
Leader of the Opposition
In office
2 June 2013 – 31 May 2017
Preceded byBranko Crvenkovski
Succeeded byNikola Gruevski
Mayor of Strumica
In office
22 March 2005 – 22 December 2016
Preceded byKiril Janev
Succeeded byKostadin Kostadinov
Personal details
Born (1974-10-08) 8 October 1974
Strumica, SR Macedonia, SFR Yugoslavia
(now North Macedonia)
Political partySocial Democratic Union
SpouseZorica Zaeva
Alma materUniversity of Skopje

Zoran Zaev (Macedonian: Зоран Заев, pronounced ['zɔran 'zaɛf]; born 8 October 1974) is a Macedonian economist and politician who served as prime minister of North Macedonia from May 2017 to January 2020, and again from August 2020 to January 2022.[2]

Prior to entering politics, he ran a private business in his hometown of Strumica. In the period 2003–2005, he was a Member of the Parliament of Macedonia, and then he ran for mayor of Strumica Municipality, a position he held for three terms, between 2005 and 2016. After the resignation of Branko Crvenkovski from the leadership of the centre-left Social Democratic Union of Macedonia in 2013, Zaev was appointed the new party leader.

Zaev suffered defeat in the 2014 parliamentary election, after which he made accusations of election rigging and decided for his party to act as a non-parliamentary opposition. In 2015, he published illegally obtained telephone conversations of senior government officials that contained indications of organized crime. In the same year, he signed the Pržino Agreement, which provided for a technical government to hold an early parliamentary election in 2016. Following the early election in 2016, Zaev's party formed a parliamentary majority with DUI and Alliance for Albanians, and their coalition government was elected in May 2017. As Prime Minister, he has advocated the accession of North Macedonia to the European Union.

He signed the Prespa agreement with Greece, resolving a long-standing dispute over the country name, which led to the accession protocol of North Macedonia to NATO. Zaev is one of the initiators of Mini Schengen Zone, an economic zone of the Western Balkans countries intended to guarantee "four freedoms". Zaev agreed with the major opposition party VMRO-DPMNE on early elections due to stalled EU talks and resigned in January 2020, but after the election, he began his second term as the head of the government. Zaev formally stepped down again after the local elections in October 2021, and was succeeded by Dimitar Kovačevski in January 2022.

Early life, education and early career

Zoran Zaev was born on 8 October 1974 in Strumica. His parents are from the Strumica village of Murtino. The family lived in the village, and moved to Strumica when Zoran was four years old.[3] Strumica is traditionally known as an agrarian region, and Zaev and his family worked in agriculture.[3] In his youth, Zaev spent several summers at the market in the Serbian town of Gornji Milanovac, selling agricultural products from Strumica.[3]

After finishing primary and secondary school in his hometown, Zaev enrolled at the Faculty of Economics at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, where he graduated in 1997. He obtained a master's degree at the same faculty.

Zaev was employed in his family's business in 1997, where in 2001 he was appointed director, and held that position until 2003. From 2000 to 2003, Zaev chaired the board of the public utility enterprise of Strumica.[4]

Political career

Zaev joined the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) in 1996. Zaev was a member of the Macedonian parliament from SDSM from 2003 to 2005.

He served as the party's vice president between 2006 and 2008.[5] He won three consecutive local elections and served as mayor of Strumica from 2005 to 2016. After Branko Crvenkovski stepped down as SDSM's leader in 2013, Zaev was elected as a new leader. In addition, he served as a member of parliament from 2003 to 2005.[5] Following the 2016 parliamentary election, Zaev formed a coalition government with support from the Democratic Union for Integration and the Alliance for Albanians in May 2017.

Controversies

2015 political crises

In January 2015, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski accused Zaev of an alleged conspiracy with a foreign intelligence service and diplomats to topple the Government, and involvement in the allegedly attempted coup d'état.[6] Zaev subsequently accused Gruevski of wiretapping and illegally spying on at least 20,000 people in the country. The public prosecutor, on the other hand, accused Zaev of blackmailing Gruevski and detained five people connected with that case.[7] The case was later dropped due to insufficient evidence.[8]

Following his election as president of the SDSM, Zaev became leader of the opposition. In that role, Zaev took part in June 2015 in a meeting with Gruevski and Johannes Hahn, the European Union's enlargement commissioner, in order to overcome the political crisis. The negotiations resulted in the Pržino Agreement, which foresaw a caretaker government to organize a snap election in April 2016 and a Special Public Prosecution to investigate the wiretaps scandal. Zaev threatened to boycott the election because of Gruevski's obstruction of the Pržino Agreement and the reforms in the judiciary system and the media.[9]

Middle finger

Following the Bulgarian veto of the accession of North Macedonia to the European Union in November 2020, Prime Minister Zaev said in a television interview with journalist Borjan Jovanovski on local television station TV 21 that "of course he felt like showing the middle finger to the Bulgarians when he learned about the veto".[10][11][12] This comment was criticized by Bulgarian politicians such as Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva.[13]

Exploiting bulgarophobia during elections

On multiple occasions Zoran Zaev has been noted to use anti-Bulgarian rhetoric in order to boost his chances during elections.[14] During the Strumica mayoral elections in 2013, he accused his opponent of being a Bulgarian due to his business connections in the country.[14] In addition, Zaev also installed a campaign banner in the centre of Strumica, which said "This is Strumica, this is not Blagoevgrad". Zoran Zaev also posted a picture of this banner on his personal Facebook page.[14][15][16]

On another occasion, during the 2021 local elections in North Macedonia, Zaev accused Danela Arsovska of having been a citizen of Bulgaria. According to Zaev at the time, Arsovska was a representative of a foreign country and should withdraw immediately if she loved the people of Skopje. Furthermore, he added that this was a humiliation to the people of Skopje.[17][18][19] Shortly after Zaev's statement, a promotional banner of Danela Arsovska was vandalized with the word 'Petrich', a Bulgarian city being plastered on top. Again inferring that Arsovska was a Bulgarian.[20][21] In addition, there were two press conferences held by Zaev's SDSM party that showed Arsovska's Bulgarian ID documents.[22][14] The actions by Zoran Zaev and his party were criticised in North Macedonia and Bulgaria.[23][21][24]

Prime minister

First premiership (2017–2020)

On 31 May 2017 the Macedonian parliament confirmed Zaev as the new Prime Minister, with 62 out of 120 MPs voting in favor. The voting ended months of political uncertainty.[25] During his speech, Zaev presented the program of the new government, saying that joining NATO and the EU would be its priority in the following years. He also promised economic growth and an end to corruption by announcing a "responsible, reformist and European government".[26]

Some newspapers interpreted some of Zaev's statements for the newspapers BGNES and Kurir as a claim asserting the Macedonians as one people with the Bulgarians or the Serbs.[27][28][29] What Zaev was recorded as saying on the original video interview of the Bulgarian newspaper BGNES was "I want to send a message to all the citizens of Bulgaria. We are brotherly people, the same folk." He stated during an interview for the Serbian newspaper Kurir, "The Serbs and the Macedonians are brotherly people" and "Nobody asked Zoran Zaev to do anything against Macedonians, against Serbs, against any ethnic community, or against any of our neighbors. We heard allegations asserting Zaev as condemning Serbia for a genocide. It's for me the same my people."[30][31]

Negotiations with Bulgaria for a treaty for friendship and cooperation

Bulgarian PM Boyko Borisov and Zaev honoring former president of the Republic of Macedonia Boris Trajkovski at his monument in Strumica

North Macedonia and Bulgaria have complicated neighbourly relations. In 2012 Bulgaria joined Greece in blocking Macedonia from obtaining a start date for EU accession talks. Bulgaria has accused Macedonia of discriminating against ethnic Bulgarians and of generating an anti-Bulgarian atmosphere in the country. Prospects for improved relations between the two countries have risen since Zaev-led government took power in Skopje in May 2017. In June in a meeting with Zaev in Sofia, PM Boyko Borisov said Bulgaria would back Macedonia's bid to join the European Union and NATO and would also sign a long-delayed friendship treaty with it. As a result, the two governments signed a friendship treaty to bolster the relations between the two Balkan states on 1 August. It was preceded by 18 years of heavy negotiations.[32] The treaty calls for a committee to "objectively re-examine the common history" of the two countries and envisages both countries will celebrate together events from their shared history.[33] "Macedonia and Bulgaria have a lot of common history and this is the stepping stone for Macedonia's European and Euro-Atlantic future", Zaev said during the ceremony in Skopje. The treaty was ratified by the parliament of the Republic of Macedonia on 15 January 2018 and by the Bulgarian parliament a few days later.

Negotiations with Greece for naming dispute

During the last years in Opposition and also in his inauguration speech, the new Prime Minister Zoran Zaev vowed his determination to resolve the decades-old dispute with Greece.[34][35][36][37] Efforts between the governments of the two countries for resolving the name dispute intensified, and on 17 January 2018, UN-sponsored negotiations had resumed, with the Greek and Macedonian ambassadors Adamantios Vassilakis and Vasko Naumovski meeting with the UN Envoy at Washington,[38][39] who suggested five names in his proposal, all containing the name "Macedonia" transliterated from Cyrillic.

After the Zaev-Tsipras meeting in Davos, Zaev announced that streets and locations such as the Alexander the Great airport in Skopje which were named by the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE after ancient Macedonian heroes and figures such as Alexander the Great, could be renamed as a sign of goodwill towards Greece. Specifically, Zaev declared that the Alexander the Great Highway, the E-75 motorway that connects Skopje to Greece, could be renamed to "Friendship Highway". In exchange, the Greek PM announced that Greece could consent to Macedonia's bid to the Adriatic-Ionian Cooperation Agreement and the Greek Parliament could ratify the second phase of the European Union Association Agreement with Macedonia as part of the accession of North Macedonia to the European Union which was blocked in 2009 by Greece owing to the name dispute.[40][41]

In late February 2018, the government and institutions of the Republic of Macedonia announced the halt of the Skopje 2014 program, which aimed to make Macedonia's capital have a "more classical appeal" and begun removing its controversial monuments and statues. In Spring 2018, extensive negotiations in a bid to resolve the naming dispute were held in rounds, with frequent meetings of the Foreign Ministers of Greece and Macedonia achieving tangible progress on the naming dispute.[42][43]

Zaev stands with Greek PM Alexis Tsipras as the foreign ministers of both countries sign the Prespa Agreement

On 12 June 2018, Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras announced that an agreement had been reached with his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev on the dispute, "which covers all the preconditions set by the Greek side".[44] The proposal would result in the (former) Republic of Macedonia being renamed the Republic of North Macedonia (Macedonian: Република Северна Македонија, romanized: Republika Severna Makedonija; Greek: Δημοκρατία της Βόρειας Μακεδονίας[45]), with the new name being used for all purposes.[46] Zaev announced that the deal includes recognition of Macedonian in the United Nations and that the citizens of the country will be called, as before, Macedonians. However, there is an explicit clarification that the citizens of the country are not related to any Hellenic civilization previously inhabiting the region.[47][48]

On 5 July, the Prespa agreement was ratified again by the parliament of Macedonia with 69 MPs voting in favor of it.[49] On 11 July, NATO invited Macedonia to start accession talks in a bid to become the EuroAtlantic alliance's 30th member.[50] On 30 July, the parliament of Macedonia approved plans to hold a non-binding referendum on changing the country's name that took place on 30 September.[51] The decisive vote to amend the constitution and change the name of the country passed on 11 January 2019 in favor of the amendment.[52] The amendment entered into force following the ratification of the Prespa agreement and the Protocol of Accession of North Macedonia to NATO by the Greek Parliament.

Relations to Albania and Albanians of North Macedonia

Zoran Zaev has a relative good relationship with Albania and the Albanians of North Macedonia. During the 2016 Macedonian parliamentary election, he supported the Albanian parties and the Tirana-Platform, which was an agreement between SDSM, DUI and BESA made in Tirana, Albania. Zaev managed to win the elections in North Macedonia however the President Gjorge Ivanov did not accept him as a new prime minister. Ivanov said he refused to give a mandate to form the country's new government to SDSM leader Zoran Zaev - who reached a coalition agreement with ethnic Albanian parties. He refuses to give such a mandate "to anyone who negotiates platforms of foreign countries that blackmail the Macedonian people, jeopardizes the integrity of the state, its sovereignty and independence."[53][54][55][56] This led to the Macedonian political crisis (2015–2017) and the storming of Macedonian Parliament in which a lot of Macedonians and the ruling party VMRO-DPMNE feared of more Albanian influence in North Macedonia.[57][58]

The VMRO-DPMNE described Zaev and SDSM as traitors who are paid from Albania and foreign countries, who want to introduce Albanian as a second official language throughout the country and who want to federalize North Macedonia.[59]

During an interview with Top Channel, Zoran Zaev describes Albania as the friendliest country for North Macedonia and that it is a 100% friendship, mutual support for progress, a common future and a better future for citizens. Zaev pointed out that trade between Tirana and Skopje increased by 11.5 percent last year and that both countries have considerable capacity to do other tasks.[60][61]

Mini Schengen Zone

On 10 October 2019, together with Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia, and Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania, Zaev signed the so-called Mini Schengen deal on regional economic cooperation, including on the free movement of goods, capital, services, and labour between their three countries, while they await progress on EU enlargement.[62] A month later, the leaders presented a set of proposals to achieve the "four freedoms" and the first steps towards them, including the possibility to the open border area.[63] In December, the three leaders also met with Milo Đukanović, President of Montenegro, opening the possibility for the country to join the zone.[64]

Zaev meets with U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo meets in Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia on October 4, 2019.

Second premiership (2020–2022)

After the 2020 parliamentary election, the SDSM-led "We Can" coalition won the most seats but did not reach a majority. On 18 August, the SDSM and DUI announced that they had reached a deal on a coalition government as well as a compromise on the issue of an ethnic Albanian Prime Minister. Under the deal, SDSM leader Zoran Zaev will be installed as Prime Minister, and will serve in that position until no later than 100 days from the next parliamentary elections (rotation government). At that time, the DUI will propose an ethnic Albanian candidate for Prime Minister, and if both parties agree on the candidate, that candidate will serve out the remaining term until the elections.[65][66] On 30 August, a coalition of the SDSM-aligned parties, DUI, and the Democratic Party of Albanians was approved by the parliament.[67]

On 31 October 2021, shortly after Skopje local election results were revealed, Zaev announced that he will be stepping down as the prime minister of North Macedonia and as president of SDSM.[68]

On 23 December 2021, the Assembly of North Macedonia approved Prime Minister Zoran Zaev's resignation, forcing the entire government to dissolve and a new government to be elected in three weeks.[69][70] Dimitar Kovačevski was "elected to form a mandate to form a government" on 27 December 2021, to likely become the new prime minister.[71] Kovačevski was inaugurated on 16 January 2022.[72]

References

  1. ↑ Caretaker gov't takes over in North Macedonia, Xinhua, 2020-01-04.
  2. ↑ "Heads of State , Heads of Government and Ministers for Foreign Affairs" (PDF). Protocol and Liaison Service, United Nations. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "ŽIVOTNA PRIČA ZORANA ZAEVA: U Srbiji sam nekad prodavao lubenice na pijaci i bio zaljubljen u Jelenu iz Gornjeg Milanovca". kurir.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  4. ↑ "Зоран Заев - поранешен претседател на СДСМ". СДСМ - Социјалдемократски сојуз на Македонија (in Macedonian). Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  5. 1 2 "Biography of Zoran Zaev". Social Democratic Union of Macedonia. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  6. ↑ MacDowall, Andrew (28 February 2015). "Fears for Macedonia's fragile democracy amid 'coup' and wiretap claims". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  7. ↑ "Macedonian Opposition Leader Accuses Government Of Wiretapping". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  8. ↑ "SPO Drops Coup Case: Katica Janeva Will Not Prosecute Zaev, Verusevski due to Insufficient Evidence". The Independent. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  9. ↑ "Macedonia opposition says will boycott election". Business Insider. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  10. ↑ "Зоран Заев: Иде ми да покажа среден пръст на българите (видео)". Dnes.dir.bg. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "Зоран Заев: Иде ми да покажа среден пръст на българите (видео)". Dir.bg (in Bulgarian). 18 November 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  12. ↑ clslavchev (19 November 2020). "Зоран Заев: Иде ми да покажа среден пръст на българите". Novini.store (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  13. ↑ "VIDEO | Zaharieva: There is no place for Balkan sexism in the EU - Free Press". Слободен печат. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 4 bulgarianbusinessinsideroffici (28 October 2021). "Zaev, Facing Electoral Defeat Turns To Ethnic Hatred". Bulgaria Business Insider. Retrieved 1 November 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. ↑ Treneski, Vlado; Tanchovski, Deyan; Ago, Erlin; Nikolov, Ivan; Stoyanovski, Iliya; Ivanov, Metodiy; Srebranov, Rumen; Tashev, Spas (2021). White Book About the Language Dispute Between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia. Sofia, Bulgaria & Toronto, Canada: Orbel Publishing House. p. 119. ISBN 978-954-496-149-7. A similar repressive practice with regard to the Bulgarian literary language and the persons with preserved Bulgarian self-consciousness is observed even today. In a decision of November 30, 2020 of the Basic Court in Strumica, Republic of North Macedonia, it was stated that Alexander Barabanovski, who worked as a security guard for Vice Zaev (brother of the current Prime Minister of Republic of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev) on October 21, 2018 punched Mitko Georgiev from Strumica him in the face and ear and addressed him the following insulting and threatening words: "Fuck your Bulgarian mother, stop attacking the Zaevs, I will kill you if you don't move out of Macedonia". According to our sources, during his visits to Strumica, A. Barabanovski also guarded Zoran Zaev. Before becoming prime minister, Zoran Zaev was mayor of Strumica and during his election campaign in 2013 he made and placed an campaign banner on the facade of the Global shopping center in the town square, containing hate speech: "This is Strumica, not Blagoevgrad (the capital of Pirin Macedonia in Bulgaria)." Zoran Zaev praised himself for this act on his Facebook profile on March 20, 2013. These examples show that even the family of the current Prime Minister of Republic of North Macedonia, despite his claims that he pursues a friendly policy towards Bulgaria, is directly involved in directing the anti-Bulgarian campaign.
  16. ↑ Treneski, Vlado; Tanchovski, Deyan; Ago, Erlin; Nikolov, Ivan; Stoyanovski, Iliya; Ivanov, Metodiy; Srebranov, Rumen; Tashev, Spas (2021). White Book About the Language Dispute Between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia. Sofia, Bulgaria & Toronto, Canada: Orbel Publishing House. p. 121. ISBN 978-954-496-149-7. "A screenshot from Zoran Zaev's personal Facebook profile with a photo he uploaded of his campaign banner in Strumica, containing hate speech: "This is Strumica, not Blagoevgrad" (March 20, 2013)."
  17. ↑ "Заев: Во Скопје се бира градоначалник а кмет во Бугарија, тврдам дека Данела има бугарско државјанство". Сител Телевизија (in Macedonian). Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  18. ↑ "ВИДЕО | Заев: Тврдам дека Данела Арсовска е државјанин и на Бугарија - очекувам да се повлече, ова е понижување". Слободен печат (in Macedonian). 27 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  19. ↑ Заев: За Скопје ја ставам на коцка мојата лична кариера, граѓаните треба да излезат на гласање, retrieved 1 November 2021
  20. ↑ NewsDesk, Darik (28 October 2021). ""We don't need a Bulgarian mayor" – the pre-election battle in Skopje is rough – World". Darik.News/en. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  21. 1 2 "Еволуцијата на Заев: Прво Струмица не беше Благоевград, па Струмица стана Петрич, сега Скопје не е Петрич". Република (in Macedonian). 28 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  22. ↑ "СДСМ: И съпругът на Данела Арсовска е български гражданин". Балкани,Международни новини,Новини от България,Света,Последни новини,Новините днес,Актуални новини,Фокус. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  23. ↑ "Ширење бугарофобија од оние кои виткаат кичма и се лигават пред секој кмет од соседството е шизофрена работа". Република (in Macedonian). 28 October 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  24. ↑ "МВнР към РСМ: Насаждането на омраза не води до добросъседски отношения". БГНЕС (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  25. ↑ "Macedonian MPs vote in new government after deadlock". BBC. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  26. ↑ "Macedonia forms new government 6 months after election". Politico. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  27. ↑ "Заев во исти ден тврди дека Македонците се Бугари, па потоа тврди дека Македонците се Срби (ВИДЕО)". Kurir.mk (in Macedonian). 2 May 2017.
  28. ↑ Зоран Заев: Македонците са един и същ народ с българите и сърбите.
  29. ↑ "Зоран Заев ја кажа вистината – Македонците и Бугарите се ист народ". Дневник.
  30. ↑ "БГНЕС | Зоран Заев: Македония няма да бъде двунационална, България и Борисов са наши големи приятели". www.bgnes.com (in Bulgarian). За България ние сме братски хора, един народ. (original in video 2:37-2:45 Jас сакам да изпратам парака до сите грагани на Бугариjа - ние сме братски хора, същи народ.)
  31. ↑ (KURIR TV) DA SE NE LAŽEMO! INTERVJU ZORAN ZAEV: Srbi su naša braća, Gruevski je KRIMINALAC!. 11 July 2023. A Srbi i Makedonci su bratski narod...Niko nije tražio da Zoran Zaev uradi nešto protiv Makedonaca, protiv Srba, protiv bilo koje etničke zajednice ili protiv bilo koga od naših suseda. Čuli smo optužbe da je Zaev prihvatio da tuži Srbiju za genocid. To je za mene isti, moj narod.
  32. ↑ "FOCUS Information Agency". FOCUS Information Agency. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  33. ↑ Macedonia, Bulgaria Sign Historic Treaty, Renounce Rivalry, 1 Aug. 2017, The New York Times.
  34. ↑ "Macedonia's Ruling SDSM Claims Victory In Municipal Elections After Early Results". Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  35. ↑ "Macedonia's PM hopes for quick solution to name dispute with Greece". Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  36. ↑ "Macedonia naming dispute: Balkan nation set to resolve 25-year-old row with Greece for seats in NATO, EU". Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  37. ↑ "Macedonia and Greece appear close to settling 27-year dispute over name". Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  38. ↑ "Nimetz: Term 'Macedonia' to be included in name proposal". Kathimerini. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  39. ↑ "UN presents new proposals on Greece-Macedonia name dispute". The Washington Post. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  40. ↑ "Macedonia Extends Olive Branch To Greece In Name Dispute". Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  41. ↑ "Public awareness campaign the next step, following the positive Tsipras - Zaev meeting in Davos". BalkanEU. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  42. ↑ "New Dimitrov - Kotzias meeting in Thessaloniki this week". Republika.mk. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  43. ↑ "Kotzias and Dimitrov report progress after name talks, say process is continuing". ANMA. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  44. ↑ "'We have a deal,' Greek PM says over FYROM name row | Kathimerini". ekathimerini.com. Η Καθημερινή. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  45. ↑ http://s.kathimerini.gr/resources/article-files/symfwnia--2.pdf, p. 3.
  46. ↑ "Greece ends 27-year Macedonia name row". BBC News. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  47. ↑ "Republic of North Macedonia with Macedonian language and identity, says Greek media". Meta.mk. Meta. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
  48. ↑ 7.1. The Parties acknowledge that their respective understanding of the terms "Macedonia" and "Macedonian" refers to a different historical context and cultural heritage. 7.2. When reference is made to the First Party (NM), these terms denote not only the area and people of the northern region of the First Party, but also their attributes, as well as the Hellenic civilization, history, culture, and heritage of that region from antiquity to present day.
  49. ↑ "Macedonia's parliament endorses name deal with Greece for second time". Reuters. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  50. ↑ "NATO Invites Macedonia to Join the Western Alliance". Balkan Insight. 11 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
  51. ↑ "Macedonia to hold name-change referendum on 30 September". SBS News. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  52. ↑ Casule, Kole (11 January 2019). "Macedonia parliament agrees to change country's name". Reuters. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  53. ↑ "Tirana Platform". b92. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  54. ↑ "Tirana Platform means subordination to another country". b92. 8 March 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  55. ↑ "albanische-plattform-zementiert-die-voelkische-politik". NZZ. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  56. ↑ Belgrad, Andreas Ernst (4 March 2017). "mazedonien-wird-zum-geopolitischen-spielball-alle-wollen-ein-wort-mitreden". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  57. ↑ "proteste-gegen-tirana-plattform". mazedonien-nachrichten. 18 March 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  58. ↑ "mazedonien-die-angst-vor-einem-grossalbanischen-reich". Spiegel. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  59. ↑ Ivanji, Andrej (18 March 2017). "Kommentar-zur-Wahl-in-Mazedonien". Die Tageszeitung: Taz. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  60. ↑ "Albanija-je-nas-najbolji-prijatelj". novosti. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  61. ↑ "tirana-nuk-e-ndihmoi-gruevskin-zaev-flet-ekskluzivisht-per-top-channel". top-channel. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  62. ↑ "Albania, North Macedonia, Serbia Sign 'Mini-Schengen' Declaration". Balkan Insight. 10 October 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  63. ↑ "Western Balkan leaders plot their own 'mini-Schengen' zone". Euronews. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  64. ↑ ""Mini-Schengen" initiative remains open to the region, next meeting in Belgrade". European Western Balkans. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  65. ↑ "N. Macedonia: Pro-Western party secures coalition deal". AP News. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  66. ↑ Marusic, Sinisa Jakov (18 August 2020). "Zoran Zaev to Lead North Macedonia's Government Again". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
  67. ↑ Marusic, Sinisa Jakov (31 August 2020). "North Macedonia Parliament Confirms Zaev's Return as PM". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  68. ↑ "ЗОРАН ЗАЕВ ПОДНЕО ОСТАВКУ!". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  69. ↑ "North Macedonia parliament approves resignation of PM and his cabinet". dtt-net.com. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  70. ↑ "North Macedonia's prime minister formally steps down". 22 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  71. ↑ "Dimitar Kovacevski has been Elected to form a Government in North Macedonia - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency". Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  72. ↑ "Собранието ја избра новата Влада, Ковачевски е премиер". Радио Слободна Европа (in Macedonian). 16 January 2022. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.

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