Skopje, 23 January 2025 (MIA) - In the United States, we held productive meetings, including dinners lasting more than an hour and a half, where we had the opportunity to showcase our Government’s priorities, the nation’s potentials, and the challenges we've tackled in the past and anticipate in the future. I believe we conveyed a message that this Government, as a strategic partner of the United States, is committed to strengthening bilateral ties between our two countries at an even higher level, which ensures a secure future for Macedonian citizens, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said.

Speaking on MRT’s evening news on Thursday about his working visit to Washington for the inauguration of US President Donald Trump, he stated that he met with influential figures close to President Trump. While some meetings were publicly shared through official government press releases, he noted that Macedonian citizens will be informed about other key meetings, involving individuals yet to be officially appointed, and are important to the country.

“Due to the weather conditions, the event was organized in multiple parts, meaning several different events. The first one was held in Congress, with congressmen and senators present. During the second event, President Trump delivered his speech, alongside his closest staff, while I was in a separate section with the President of the Republican Party, who attended with his family. For us, as a small country, and for me as the Prime Minister, it was a great honour to attend the event,” Mickoski said.

He highlighted the meetings with Dan Bongino and Devin Nunes, whom he referred to as the most influential figures in President Trump’s inner circle, people who are very close to him, and whose opinions are highly valued by President Trump.

“I would like to say that we need to set things up right at the start of the Trump administration, and I would say that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. It’s very important to leave a good first impression and to be here at the beginning of this administration’s work, and I think we succeeded. In the coming period, many of these meetings will be further disclosed, along with the results of all this. I believe we conveyed a message that this Government, as a strategic partner of the United States, is committed to strengthening bilateral ties between our two countries at an even higher level,” Mickoski added.

He referred to the meeting he held with Chris Pavlovski, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rumble, with the Macedonian diaspora, as well as with Richard Grenell, the former director of the national intelligence, during which they also talked about the challenges in the Balkans.

Asked about the opposition’s position, Mickoski said that the opposition fails to see the essence, which is that what happened in Washington are moments that could be decisive for the future of our country.

“I follow the events at home, and what the opposition and people close to the opposition are doing is understandable to me, because it’s normal that they want the focus of this visit to be on whether we received invitations, whether a PR agency secured them for us, or whether we bought them. They don’t want to see the essence. In the upcoming period, they will see some of the things that happened in Washington, which are essentially moments when the essence and future of Macedonia and its citizens may be decided. It’s unfortunate that they chose this approach, but it’s their strategy. The truth is that, like every U.S. presidential inauguration ceremony, this one should have been held at the same location it’s been for decades, organized by the committee made up of congressmen,” Mickoski said.

Photo: MIA archive