SKOPJE (N. Fragopoulos) “With the Prime Minister of Greece Alexis Tsipras, we remain fully committed to the prospect of the new Balkans of the 21st century, where friendship will be built, cooperation enhanced and we will contribute to an improvement of economic growth and development in our countries,” FYROM Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Thursday.

This would enhance the prosperity and happiness of the citizens in both Greece and FYROM, he noted, leading to more trade transactions, new investments and higher economic standards.

Zaev was replying to questions about his discussion with Tsipras over the phone on Wednesday, following the resignation of the former Greek foreign minister Nikos Kotzias and Tsipras’ decision to take over the Greek foreign ministry.

He said that Tsipras had briefed him on the developments in Greece and assured him of the continued commitment to the agreements, explaining that he was taking over as foreign minister in order to ensure the implementation of the Prespes Agreement.

“I am very happy with Greece’s absolute commitment to this Agreement. I can also confirm our own absolute commitment. I hope that Parliament will draw strength tomorrow, that the MPs will show courage and daring – because they are representatives of the citizens first and only afterward of the political parties – in the face of the historic responsibility that presents itself before them,” he added.

This opportunity must not be lost, Zaev underlined, urging parliamentarians to rise to the occasion and ratify the agreement, giving their approval for the necessary changes to the country’s constitution.