Skopje, 8 September 2026 (MIA) - Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski told an event on the country's 35th independence anniversary that he is working towards making this generation the one that ushers the country into the European Union, while adding everyone is aware of the one final challenge that needs to be overcome through trust.

PM Mickoski said trust would be created if facts are embraced, if Strasbourg court rulings on the Macedonian community in Bulgaria are not ignored, if one puts an end to the denital of the right to use the Macedonian language. He added that the country's path is the European one, less the compromises on identity, language and culture.

"I am working on us being the generation that ushers the country into the European Union. There is no better alternative for the country, this is a fact. Nevertheless, each and every one should know there is one final challenge standing in front of us, not to finalize our path but to start it, not because we have some guarantee that we will reach the goal but that we will start our journey on that path. We hear those hypocritical calls by our political opponents, or at least some of them, saying that we should solve the problem, while being unaware they are the ones who created the problem. Yes, we will solve it, but patience is needed to create the trust first and foremost. For this to happen, the judgments of the Strasbourg-based Court of Human Rights on the Macedonian community should not be ignored. The denial of my Macedonian language needs to stop, the search for the roots of the Macedonian nation as a result of a decision by the communist comintern needs to stop, while accepting an ages-long fact. There is no trust until we accept these facts. We need to build trust first and then have dialogue. A dialogue without trust leads to nowhere, it only creates new problems and new defeats," said Mickoski.

He added there are issues that cannot be subject to compromise - identity, language, and culture.

"A compromise on these issues means that the Macedonian ASNOM and Ilinden have been destroyed. Our word is the final line of defense, because when you lose honor, there is nothing left in life," said Mickoski.

The PM said the Macedonian society is one of deep contrasts, not among people but among political elites.

"Many have told me not to back down, but I am a reasonable man, I give dialogue a chance because I believe that the good always prevails over the evil and because politics is the art of dialogue. We will continue to build bridges, I will extend my hand on issues that are important for our future, and we will offer dialogue, because anyone's vanity, even mine, is worth nothing when Macedonia is in question," underlined Mickoski.

Photo: Screenshot