Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made his views of the Prespes Agreement loud and clear during a meeting with his North Macedonia counterpart, Zoran Zaev, stating that he would not have signed the deal had he been in power at the time.
It was the first meeting between the two leaders since Mitsotakis was elected as PM, and took place on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Summit in New York on Tuesday.
Despite his thoughts on the matter, Mitsotakis did say that the government would respect the agreement.
READ MORE: Greek Prime Minister anticipated to visit Australia in 2020
There is in fact no choice in the matter, given the deal was ratified by the Greek Parliament earlier this year in January, making it part of international law.
According to reports, Mitsotakis encouraged Zaev and his government to ensure the deal was implemented accordingly, particularly when it comes to trademark protections.
Zaev said his government is looking at implementing all parts of the deal as soon as possible, so as to ensure his country’s efforts to join the European Union.
He added that he hopes the deal would encourage greater investment from Greece.