Skopje, 12 April 2024 (MIA) - The European Front's presidential candidate Bujar Osmani held a public forum Friday on strengthening the strategic partnership with the United States and the European Union, while also discussing about proper international establishment through foreign policy.

"One of the main roles I see in the office of president is that I will commit to being the compass of the Euro-Atlantic orientation with a focus on the United States, and I will raise the strategic dialogue at the level of the presidents of states, the highest possible level," Osmani told Friday's forum. 

He reiterated that if elected, the first thing he would do is convene a meeting with party leaders that will last until they reach a consensus around the country's EU membership, and then consensus on the strategic dialogue with the United States. 

In response to a reporter's question regarding VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski's comment that Osmani has missed the chance for a consensus on the constitutional amendments, and how he thinks the opposition should be involved, Osmani said that was not true, and the opposition party was manipulating the citizens by misinterpretation in terms of the content of the French proposal and the Negotiating Framework. 

"I stand ready this very moment, I will halt the campaign if necessary, away from the public's eyes, I am ready to go to the White Palace at the headquarters of VMRO-DPMNE and answer all the questions to all of the party's members, present the French proposal and the Negotiating Framework so they can see that what they are saying is not true, that they are manipulating the citizens and that the greatest success of the Negotiating Framework, achieved with the help of the U.S. and Brussels, was to pull down the Bulgarian declaration which said that language, identity and history would be on Macedonia's path towards Brussels, and move to human and minority rights, the inclusion of 3.5 thousand Bulgarians in the Constitution," said Osmani. 

According to him, those who refuse to accept the constitutional amendments are betraying the strategic partners because the compromise has been reached with their help. Also, that could bring back the topic of history and identity and third, he added, with each day of delayed EU accession, more and more Macedonians will apply for Bulgarian passports to leave the country.

"If that's what you call patriotism - to make citizens give false statements of having Bulgarian origin in order to be able to leave the country, then I don't know what patriotism is," Osmani said.

According to him, there is no more important issue for the country's future, stability and peace, for inter-ethnic harmony and good neighborly relations than the close partnership with the United States.

"The point that I keep reiterating is that behind our every political success, though not only political, there is the seal of the United States. It is the duty of every politician, and especially to show the young people, that if they have the ambition to become politicians in the future, that the most important thing they should consider is the close partnership with the United States. There is no greater risk for this region, for this country, than for the United States to withdraw its interest from here," said Osmani. 

In this context, he stressed the importance of topics including security, increasing the Army's capability, the rule of law and the extremely important support from the United States in the fight against corruption, setting up an international vetting board for public office holders, as well as lifting visa requirements for Macedonian nationals.

Photo: MIA