Skopje, 27 March 2023 (MIA) – Almost half of the discussion at Monday’s meeting between Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani and Albanian Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Olta Xhaçka focused on Bulgaria's attempts for a silent assimilation of the Macedonians in Albania.

FM Osmani said that they requested Tirana’s position on the issue, while according to Xhaçka’s information, these are sporadic cases.

“We requested an opinion from Albania, however, according to the Minister’s information these cases are only sporadic for now, and an attempt was made to exploit a vacuum between the adoption of a law and a bylaw, which the Albanian government will try to address. There is a working group in the Ministry which monitors these events on a daily basis and proposes concrete steps, and soon the government will discuss this issue as well,” said Osmani.

The FM said the Macedonian MFA presented its remarks and reports, and requested support for the Macedonians in Albania.

“I visited them last year and we drafted a government plan for the support of the Macedonians there. What’s different in Albania is that the self-determination declaration has to be confirmed by the local municipal officials as well, which brings the state into these declarations,” said Osmani.

When asked what the Albanian Government is doing on this issue, Minister Xhaçka said these are sporadic cases.

“We have received reports about some sporadic cases that we are reviewing, we are in close coordination with the institutions of North Macedonia so that we can see how extensive this process is, but according to current reports it’s not that extensive. Every report that we receive will be shared with our colleagues in North Macedonia,” said Xhaçka.

She added that Albania has never turned a blind eye to Sofia’s actions.

“On the contrary, we have been very clear that an EU member state cannot block the Euro-integration processes of Albania and North Macedonia because of historical issues or political calculations. This is a process of meritocracy; we are fulfilling all of our obligations. The current geostrategic moment, especially Russia’s war in Ukraine, has awakened Europe to the need for a more active approach to the Western Balkan countries. And also in relation to the current events with the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, but also with other elements, with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s candidate status; all in all, evidently there is an increased awareness of the fact that the enlargement process is closely related to the safety and security not only of the region, but also of the EU itself,” said Xhaçka. ad/ik/