Skopje, 5 August 2024 (MIA) - Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, will welcome and host Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, on Monday.

According to the government press service, the visit will include a tête-a-tête meeting between Prime Ministers Mickoski and Kurti, followed by a bilateral meeting with both prime ministers and government delegations from both countries.

Mickoski and Kurti are scheduled to hold a joint press conference today at the government.

The discussions are expected to include the incident involving Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani at Skopje Airport.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora of Kosovo expressed concern over an incident involving Kosovo's President Vjosa Osmani at Skopje Airport, calling the treatment by airport security "undignified." They have requested official clarifications regarding the incident from the Embassy of North Macedonia in Pristina and from the Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of North Macedonia issued a press release Saturday in response to the protest note issued by Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora over Thursday's incident at the Skopje Airport involving the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani. The Macedonian Ministry said it had requested information over the event from relevant institutions, and pending an analysis, it said it would take measures to avoid similar situations in the future.

On Thursday evening, the Macedonian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that the security team of Parliament Speaker Afrim Gashi had threatened TAV Macedonia staff who requested Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani to place her phone in a scanner during border control at Skopje International Airport. While Kosovo's President was going through border control and was asked to leave her phone to pass through the scanner, a member of her security team pushed aside the TAV employee to allow her to pass without scanning her phone and hand luggage. However, the luggage was later returned and was scanned, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

TAV Macedonia stated that its security department acted within its authority and conducted a standard check on Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani Sadriu and her luggage at the security checkpoint in the VIP lounge, ensuring that aviation security and passenger safety were not compromised. They categorically denied claims that their security personnel attempted to confiscate Kosovo President’s phone during the screening in the VIP lounge at Skopje International Airport.

On Thursday, the office of the Parliament Speaker, Afrim Gashi, issued a statement denying any involvement of his personal security team in the incident at Skopje Airport as reported by some media. Yesterday, Gashi told the media that he "intervened to calm the situation and avoid a diplomatic incident, and I think it ended up being handled correctly." He added that if someone had overstepped their authorities, they would certainly be held accountable.

Photo: MIA archive