Prosecutor starts pre-investigative procedure against Macedonian president: report

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SKOPJE, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Macedonian Public Prosecutor's Office began a pre-investigative procedure against President Gjorge Ivanov related to his not signing either the Law on Languages or the name agreement with Greece, local media reported on Tuesday.

According to the Macedonian prosecutor's office, the procedure was initiated following two anonymous reports.

"We have asked for information from the Macedonian Parliament and the President's Office over the dates of the decisions' adoption and the reasons why they have not been signed," the Macedonian Prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Ivanov did not sign the Law on the Ratification of the Prespa Agreement -- a historical accord signed at the Prespa lakes between Greece and Macedonia over the name dispute involving Macedonia's official name -- despite it being twice voted on and passed in parliament.

Moreover, Ivanov did the same earlier on the Law on the Use of Languages which, according to the government, aims at extending the official use of the Albanian language across the predominantly Macedonian-speaking country.

Meanwhile, these two regulations have not yet been published in the "Official Gazette", the country's legal database, and cannot enter into force.

Following UN-mediated negotiations for years, the governments of Greece and FYROM reached a deal this June to put an end to the name row which had started in 1991.

Athens was worried that the use of the same name of a northern Greek province by the neighboring state could lead to territorial claims.

Under the agreement which was signed on June 17 by the two governments at the Prespa lakes which is the natural border between the two states, FYROM's new name will be "Republic of North Macedonia".

The name row was the main obstacle Skopje had to overcome to make progress towards European Union (EU) and NATO integration.

Although the two governments promote the deal, there are still many people in both countries opposing the agreement. Enditem

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