Skopje, 29 March 2022 (MIA) - Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski met on Tuesday with Kimmo Lähdevirta, non-resident Ambassador of the Republic of Finland to North Macedonia and discussed the war in Ukraine, the security situation in Europe, as well as opportunities to boost good bilateral cooperation between the two countries. During the meeting, they underlined the significance of the unity within NATO member states and the European Union in their positions on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the government's press release reads. They also underscored that the step forward of the Republic of North Macedonia in the European perspectives is important for our country, but also it is as an encouragement for the whole region, and contribution to the stability and security of Europe. Kovachevski thanked Lähdevirta for the Finnish support to country’s European integration and stressed that North Macedonia continues to actively share same values with the NATO member states and the EU. “We are fully in line with the policies of NATO and the European Union in terms of the situation in Ukraine. We have largely harmonized domestic law with EU law, and we are developing good neighbourly relations in the spirit of European values. There is a positive energy in the relations between the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Bulgaria and thus we are working towards finding solutions to the open issues. It is clear in Brussels that the European integration progress of the Republic of North Macedonia is important for both the region and the EU," PM Kovachevski said. Moreover, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani also held a meeting today with Kimmo Lähdevirta, non-resident Ambassador of the Republic of Finland to North Macedonia. Osmani and Lähdevirta expressed satisfaction with the upward development of bilateral relations between the two countries and exchanged ideas on foreign policy and security priorities of the two countries, the European perspective of North Macedonia as well as current international issues in new geopolitical reality, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press release. They also discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which is a gross violation of international law and a threat to the European security order, and reaffirmed their call for the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and the intensifying of the peace talks.