Alexis and I were determined to take a huge joint step for the future of our countries, but also for the region and Europe, our peace agreement sent a strong signal to the world, success has an impact far beyond the region, were some of the messages sent by former Prime Minister Zoran Zaev from Athens during his speech at the third SYRIZA Congress, MIA reports from Athens.

Just like yesterday, so tonight, Zaev was greeted with applause and applause from those present, and arrived in the hall together with SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras, who followed the address of the former Prime Minister, who in turn stressed that the participation in the Congress and the opportunity to share his thoughts is "a great honor and privilege" for him.

- Alexis and I worked for peace and we managed to resolve the conflict whose foundations were deep in history. This success has an impact far beyond the region. Our peace agreement has sent a strong signal to the world. There can be no principle of the stronger alone. In today's world there is still the path of respect and compromise, the path of mutual understanding, the path of peace and stability. We focused our political visions on a common goal. We established a political relationship, which rose to cooperation and culminated in friendship. We both put this friendship in the foundations of the new long-term relationship between our countries, said Zaev.

The former prime minister referred to the awards he received with Tsipras, noting that their friendship was crowned with the "Ewald von Kleist" award, "which aims to pay tribute to leading figures in security policy who have made outstanding contributions to international peace and conflict management. ", As well as the" Hessian Peace Prize ", but also the" International Peace Prize of Westphalia "which pays tribute to individuals or representatives of countries that have advocated for European integration and peace in Europe.

"But before receiving these awards, Alexis and I were determined to take a huge joint step that would work for the future of our countries, our citizens, the entire region and Europe, in the name of the future of friendship, peace and stability," he said. Zaev.

He stressed that he and Tsipras chose to do everything they could to find a "solution without delay".

-Let me ask you, who is virtuous? The one who simply prolongs the problem or the one who agrees to find the solution? "We came to a solution when everyone claimed it was impossible!" Said Zaev, adding that the legacy of their friendship "will be maintained and further developed, because we openly discussed all issues even when there seemed to be no solution."

He said that challenges are also a chance for solutions and "this is the way friends work, focused on solutions, on building bridges, not walls."

He also mentioned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said that the only solution was peace, as well as "urgent dialogue instead of violence".

He expressed support for Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity, as well as "sympathy with the Ukrainian leadership and the families of the victims."

- Urgent peace is needed with an urgent diplomatic solution that will respect the principles of international law, aimed at defending common values, human rights and the protection of fundamental freedoms. We, the democratic world, should continue to strengthen international cooperation and coordination to develop new approaches for the promotion and protection of democracies around the world, said Zaev.

He also referred to the left, saying that its ideas "must be promoted, spoken out loud and articulated". He stressed that there are many countries such as Greece and Northern Macedonia that have shown the opposite in terms of "the thesis that Europe is or will be led by the extreme right."

The former Prime Minister ended his speech with the slogan under which the third SYRIZA Congress is being held, "a new beginning", saying that "new beginnings are coming, new beginnings for our citizens, new beginnings for our countries, for the region, for Europe".