Skopje, 3 November 2022 (MIA) – Minister of Defense Slavjanka Petrovska said Thursday that the donations to Ukraine are not harming the combat readiness of North Macedonia and stressed that North Macedonia is a secure country, which, like other countries, is exposed to hybrid threats. In a TV interview, Petrovska said that the decisions on sending aid to Ukraine are not being covered up, but that the details are being classified due to practical reasons. She added that the donation decisions are noted in detail in the Ministry’s archives and will be published in full as soon as the opportunity presents itself. “The most important thing is that everything we have donated was needed by Ukraine and this is not about PR,” said Petrovska, underlying that the donations do not affect the country’s combat readiness. She does not expect that the military conflict in Ukraine will spread past the Ukrainian borders, and added that Ukraine currently cannot become a NATO member because it does not meet the conditions, but that it has and will continue to receive aid from the Alliance. “Ukraine is not at war, Ukraine is defending its territory,” stressed the Minister. When it comes to the security of North Macedonia, Petrovska said that we are a safe country, which, like all other countries, is exposed to cyber attacks and hybrid threats. The aim of these attacks and threats, she added, is to cause mistrust and insecurity in our society. “The institutions in the country are doing their jobs and the citizens should trust in their work,” said Petrovska, who herself was a victim of a hybrid attack. She assessed that the reason for the hybrid attacks against her is her firm stance on the unjust war against Ukraine. “Our stance on Ukraine is not a result of NATO instructions, but was created within our own institutions. We are an independent country, and our voice is heard in the Alliance, because we are an equal member,” said Petrovska. She said that all security organizations in the country are cooperating with each other, and that she expects all institutions to react within their authority to discourage such attacks. “The government and the judiciary should ensure the safety and security of the citizens,” said Petrovska. “There are no conventional threats against the country. Whenever we have warnings the institutions take the necessary measures, regardless of the fact that a war is being waged in Europe,” added the Minister. Regarding the introduction of compulsory military service, Petrovska said that this is not being discussed for the time being and added that the country's strategy is based on having a professional army and that it would be necessary to calculate the benefits and the expenses of compulsory military service. “Our legislation provides the option of voluntary military service and there really is not a lot of interest in that, unlike the interest in the professional army,” said Petrovska. She also stressed that the Army’s budget has increased, in line with NATO membership, but it still takes into account the current crisis in the country. On VMRO-DPMNE’s call for her resignation Wednesday, she said that she is implementing the amendments to the Law on Army in a principled manner, which concerns Army employees and she discusses all issues and situations with the employees of the Ministry of Defense. “We reached an agreement with all four unions to linearly increase the wages of all employees by 2,000 denars. The law was sent to Parliament and it was adopted unlike the previous one which was blocked by the opposition. This law also solves the issues of the employees whose employment ends once they turn 45. A problem arose during the calculations but we solved it together with the unions,” said Petrovska. The Minister added that if the MPs have objections to her work they should not ask for her resignation, but should call for a vote of no confidence instead. ad/ba/