Friday, August 19, 2005

Macedonia improves ties with Kosovo to end "age-old dependence" on Belgrade

Excerpt from report by Goran Momirovski entitled "Macedonian government prepares counter-blow against Serbia"posted on Macedonian A1 TV website on 18 August

The Macedonian trade and economic office in Pristina, which opened in March, is most probably going to grow into a liaison office, a diplomatic and economic mission of the type that 26 countries have in Kosovo.

We must egoistically protect our interests, the prime minister said last week. This seems to have heralded the government's intentions to put an end to its age-old dependence on Belgrade and to place Pristina on the same level with Belgrade in terms of its priorities in the Balkans, even if this annoys Serbia.

According to A1 Television reports, the government's initial plan to open a liaison office in Pristina was changed only because of the opposition coming from Belgrade, which sees this act as recognition of Kosovo's independence.

In an attempt to assume a favourable position ahead of the final talks on Kosovo's status, [Prime Minister] Buckovski's office is trying to develop a positive policy towards Kosovo, free of the conservative views of the president, who advocated tough relations with the province.

An additional reason for our changed attitude towards Kosovo is Belgrade nationalist circles' pressure and intention to radicalize relations with Macedonia through the Vraniskovski [imprisoned Bishop Jovan] affair.

Contrary to the opinions expressed by experts and by the government that Skopje-Belgrade relations are at the lowest possible level since 1991 owing to Vraniskovski, today President Crvenkovski tried to alleviate the aggravated communication between Serbia and Macedonia. [Passage omitted]

The Foreign Ministry says that according to the government's decision in May the Macedonian office in Pristina continues to have merely economic powers.

It is nevertheless symptomatic that, starting from 1 September, the new coordinator in our mission in Pristina will no longer come from the Economy Ministry, but from the Foreign Ministry - a professional diplomat who previously served as consul in the Macedonian embassy in Brussels.

Source: A1 TV website, Skopje, in Macedonian 18 Aug 05

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dado Topic was right ;)

There where the Sun shines...

We will have good relations with Macedonia, happy day

Anonymous said...

I feel the wind of change blowing...

Anonymous said...

I've been saying this for a long time that these serbs still think a "yugoslavia" exists in where they have total control over the balkans. I'm happy to say as a Macedonian that they are becoming an obsolete particle in the region. Now let's see Kosova become independant and let's show western europe what the east can do.

Ivan,Macedonia

Anonymous said...

Well said Ivan.

There will be no prosperity if the region as a whole does not make significant progress.

See you in Brussels!

Kosovar

Anonymous said...

I just wana drive down to Macedonia and give random hugs to all of them :) they do have nice girls :P

Anonymous said...

James, USA.
It only makes sense for Kosovo and Macedonia to have good relations. Soon in the EU, Macedonia and an Independent Kosovo will have similar interests regionaly, both politically and economically. Since both the Albanians and Macedonians are on the reciving end of a harsh foreign policy from Serbia and Greece it only makes sense for them to work together.
On top of it all, Albania is the only country besides the US to publically recognize the official name of the Republic of Macedonia, and Macedonia is comprised of a 30% Albanian population.
The only thing that I don't understand is where was Macedonia so far?
James, USA.

Anonymous said...

I think Macedonia was unsure. The rebellion a few years back probably scared them, which makes sense, but I am very happy to see that Albania, Kosova and Macedonia will end up working out well. :)

Anonymous said...

Correction to comment by James from USA - Macedonia has 25% Albanian population, not 30%.

As a Macedonian I agree with the comments posted so far. Macedonia should follows its own interests, and recognize an independent Kosovo when the time comes.

There is no Orthodox unity, and we should stop pretending there is. The greatest threats to Macedonia's existence have always come from the north and south, and this has not changed.

Anonymous said...

It's time to end political opportunism in the Balkans. For too long alliances with foreign powers (isn’t it ironic that we should meet in Brussels) have pitted one country against its neighbors. For too long different levels of development have made one country think that it’s superior over the others and thus convinced it of its innate supremacy and the right to rule them. In Europe this is so 1870. In the Balkans, there are no angels. Some have started wars and others have followed them. As J. Blunt says, the wall between the human being and the animal is quite thin.
I hope that the wars of the last decade have finally inoculated the brains of the Balkan people against the contagious disease of ultra nationalism.

Anonymous said...

James, USA, said:

At 9:56 PM, Anonymous said... "Correction to comment by James from USA - Macedonia has 25% Albanian population, not 30%".

Not to get too technical Anonymous, but the official numbers released by the Macedonian government of the latest cencus are 27.5% Albanian, which is closer to 30%.

Regardless, Macedonians need to realize that the Albanians are more their allies than the Serbs or Greeks will ever be. Plus about 20% of Albanians are Orthodox themselves, should you need religion as a reason to like them better!

Anonymous said...

James, the official figure is 25.17%

Here is the official report from the Macedonian government statistics office

http://www.stat.gov.mk/english/glavna_eng.asp?br=18

Anonymous said...

Actually it is thought that by 2015 the albanian population in Macedonia will be 50% (according to the ex prime of Mac) while it is a well known fact that many albanians do not want or cannot register in the census. Although the official number recognized by OSCE is 25% (used to be 23) many rational people (who work in the region) I talk with would agree that the albanians in Mac make up something like 27-30% of the population. On the other hand alb in mac pretend their percentage to be as high as 40% which is quite unlikely.

Anonymous said...

Anyway, I think the first aim of Europe was to avoid conflicts of Nations and bring back people to the reality of the importance of each human being... (WWII was suppose to start a never again but obviously a lot of work still needed in Europe and all around the world). Let's hope for a clear dialog between the countries and peoples (no matter of how many individuals they are made)...
I know it's a bit basic but sometimes, basis are goed to be remenbered...

Anonymous said...

Very good posts by many bloggers here, especially James.

Macedonians has finally understood that Albanians are not their enemies. They are potential allies.
With the needed changes in Macedonia for equality now being enforced, the stage is open for excellent relations between Albanians (in Albania, Kosova and Macedonia itself) and Macedonians.

Like Ivan said, Macedonia has been threatened from the north and south, meaning Serbia and Greece. The same can be said for Albanians.
So now we can form a "horizontal" alliance with Kosova, Albania Macedonia and hopefully Montenegro which strengthens the horizontal axis and weakens the vertical axis of Serbia and Greece.
That would be in everybodys interest.

Tosi
Sweden

Anonymous said...

It is obvious, considering the stupidity of many Macedonians that they are willingly helping to create a Greater Albania (Albania,Kosovo, Macedonia and Montenegro).

I would just advise the Macedonians to start learning Albanian, as they won't have the right to speak their own language when they become a minority in their own country.

At least Albanian is a real historic people, while the Slav Macedonian nation and Bosniaks was created by Tito.

At least there will still be millions of Serbs and Greeks when the last Macedonian has been Albanised.

Anonymous said...

Please, can anyone enlighten me when did Serbia threaten Macedonia?
And another thing, if there is no ortodox sympathy, it's for sure that there won't be any muslim-ortodox one. Dear Macedonians, don't fool Yourselves, after Kosovo, YOU ARE NEXT.
Anyway I believe that most of these comments are not being written by random populace, but by somebody paid to do so.
Cheers from Belgrade.

Anonymous said...

Please, Serbs who are posting here, stop exporting your expansionist ideas over the border. Albanians are Muslim, Catholic, Orthodox, and Macedonians know this and understand that in essence we are a secular nation. Religion here plays no role.

As for Serbs threatning Macedonia, well you "orthodox brothers" tried to take away this nations Church and join it to the Serb one. A Serb leading the Macedonian church is precisely that, threat and invasion of Macedonian sovereignty.

Reports on this issue

Serbia is loosing on all fronts. Macedonians have shown wisdom by making peace and paving the way for cooperation between Macedonia and the Albanian states (Kosova & Albania, none other).

Anonymous said...

Kosovo is a province of Serbia, when I last looked not an Albanian State.

Albania should stop oppressing it's minority populations and give independence to southern Albania, which should be renamed and called Alexandria.

All the Orthodox Greeks,Serbs, Albanians can live freely in Alexandria, while Northern Albanians can join together with Macedonia and form a crime ridden, corrupt Islamic Republic.Then the government of this state can invite all Albanians from Kosovo to come home to Islamabania. Problem solved.

Anonymous said...

In your dreams servian...

As shown by the above poster, it's not Albanians that are fanatics but the Serbian Orthodox who encouraged by their racist church still nurture megalomanic ideas.

There is no such thing as Orthodox unity in the Balkans.
1) The bishop Jovan and his serbian sponsors, the racist Serbian Orthodox church, have shown it clearly what the serbs mean by Orthodox unity.

2) Macedonias biggest enemy, Greece, is an Orthodox country.

3) Albania, besides US, is the only country to recognize Macedonia by it's name.
Where is serbia, when Macedonia needs it the most. They are too busy stabbing them in the back with bishop Jovan.

Tosi
Sweden

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