Skopje, 23 January 2025 (MIA) - I am ready to talk anywhere and with anyone in order to find a solution that will unblock the accession process, but one that will be permanent, not just an instant fix for the moment, but a solution that will allow us to have dignified negotiations all the way to the end, not just for the first steps, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said Thursday evening from New York.

“I don’t have any communication with the new prime minister of our eastern neighbour, but I would be glad to meet with him and discuss the potential opportunities. My message in that meeting would be that if agreements are valid and need to be respected by us, then they must also be respected by them, and that bilateral issues should not be part of the negotiation process,” Mickoski said in an interview with MRT.

Regarding the meetings in the US with Alexander Kasanof, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Balkans, and Richard Grenell, who is Trump’s special envoy for special missions, said that he had not yet met an objective diplomat who does not have sympathy for everything we, as a people, have done and everything we, as a country, have achieved in the name of European integration.

“The issue is how we reach the goal and how we unblock this process in a dignified way, which has been blocked because of the adventurous policies of the previous government, which believed they would be forgiven internationally for signing anything put in front of them, while at home they could rob the citizens and destroy the country. In such an exhibitionist mood, they accepted something they couldn’t deliver and created an objective problem for European integration,” Mickoski underlined.

I am aware, he added, of what Bujar Osmani did as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Dimitar Kovachevski as Prime Minister.

“I understand that they accepted something they couldn’t fulfil, and I also understand that they did this for other lucrative reasons. It’s clear to me that this is a problem and will always be presented as a condition. However, if this condition applies to us, then all other conditions must also apply, including agreements that were previously accepted, like the Resolution on Human Rights and the Good Neighbourly Agreement. This should be an obligation for all parties involved,” Mickoski pointed out.

“In all that ambition, we chose a strategy to present our positions as clearly and loudly as possible, to create friendships, build alliances, and find allies in order to find a dignified solution, and I am optimistic about it. We will continue to build friendships, seek alliances, and be as clear and loud as we can in this process. I believe that if we have real and objective European "merit-based" criteria based on achievements rather than bilateral issues, then very soon, starting today, after two decades, Macedonia's accession process will finally be unblocked,” Mickoski stated.

Photo: MIA archive