Ohrid, 23 July 2022 (MIA) — By opening our Consulate in Ohrid, we are showing respect to our brotherly Macedonian people, their Macedonian language and their culture, Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selaković told reporters in Ohrid. “No culture can exist without language,” he said. “Last year, Macedonia celebrated the 100th anniversary of Blaže Koneski’s birth, a great jubilee important for our brotherly Macedonian people. “As a sign of respect to my friends and hosts from the Republic of North Macedonia, the women and men from Ohrid, I spoke in Macedonian yesterday since I know how nice it is when someone comes to visit you from another country and shows their respect this way. “By doing that I showed my respect not only for my hosts but also for the Macedonian language and the Macedonian culture, which that language gave birth to,” Serbia’s top diplomat said, talking to the press after the opening of Serbia’s Consulate in Ohrid which was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Slavica Grkovska, Minister of Justice Nikola Tupancheski and Minister of Culture Bisera Kostadinovska Stojchevska. “Speaking both on behalf of the Republic of Serbia and on my behalf as a Serb who has many close friends, relatives, and associates originally from Macedonia, who are Macedonians, I am proud of our friendship,” Selaković said. As the head of Serbian diplomacy, Selaković said, his task was to strengthen good relations with neighboring countries based on President Aleksandar Vucić and the Belgrade government’s foreign policy guidelines. “One of our neighbors is Bulgaria. Another one of our neighbors is the Republic of North Macedonia. Everyone chooses their own path. Serbia has chosen the path of strengthening togetherness, strengthening cooperation, strengthening economic cooperation as much as possible. “The president of the Serbian Chamber was also here today and Serbia will continue this way. We deal with our problems, we mind our own business, and let others mind theirs,” Serbia’s foreign minister said. The Serbian Consulate in Ohrid is Serbia’s 86th honorary consulate abroad and will cover the territories of the municipalities of Ohrid, Struga, Debrca, Vevchani, Debar and Centar Zhupa. mr/