A selfie to break the Macedonian ice

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April 3, 2019

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A selfie to break the Macedonian ice

Source: AP | 00:00 UTC+8 April 3, 2019 |

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The prime ministers of Greece and North Macedonia have broken the ice, engaging in selfie diplomacy during the first official visit by a Greek leader to the neighboring country following decades of strained relations over a name dispute.

North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev held up a cellphone while standing beside Greek counterpart Alexis Tspiras, snapping the historic selfies outside the main government building in the capital, Skopje.

The former Yugoslav republic officially changed its name this year from Macedonia to North Macedonia, settling a dispute over its name with Greece that lasted nearly three decades.

“We have lost a lot of time and now we must rapidly catch up,” Tsipras told reporters at a joint news conference. “We want to build a strong bond of trust and stability.

“When I used to take a plane to Europe, the pilot would avoid the airspace of what was the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. Now we will no longer have this nonsense. We might fly around here just to say hello.”

Leaders and ministers from the two countries signed multiple friendship agreements to establish embassies in both capitals, ease trade barriers and for the Greek military to police North Macedonia’s airspace.

Tsipras traveled to Skopje with 10 Greek Cabinet ministers and more than 100 business representatives.

North Macedonia is due to become the next member of NATO after Greece dropped its objections.

Both Tsipras and Zaev faced strong domestic opposition to their agreement last summer to normalize relations, resolving the emotive issue tied in the two countries to national identity. Greek opponents staged several large rallies in Athens and other cities to try and press the government to abandon the deal.

Greece opposed the use of the name Macedonia, arguing that it posed a threat to its own administrative region of Macedonia as well as the region’s ancient history and heritage that includes the legacy of Alexander the Great.

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A selfie to break the Macedonian ice

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