Bujar Osmani: We are with Ukraine, Russia endangers the Balkans too

Northern Macedonia has a principled position in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but also in support of the right of Ukraine, like any other sovereign country, to determine its own strategic orientations in foreign policy.

This was stated in a statement to The Geopost by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Northern Macedonia, Bujar Osmani. “In this regard, we will continue to be active in sending these messages. We are united within NATO and we will do our best to give a chance to de-escalate the situation through diplomatic instruments, but of course we will be ready to defend ourselves,” said Osmani.

He now is in Munich, Germany, where he attends the annual Security Conference. This time the Conference was boycotted by Russia, being called the “club of the West”. In fact, the whole conference passed under the shadow of the threat and anticipation of the Russian military attack on Ukraine.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmitry Kuleba, called on the Foreign Ministers of Sweden, Anne Linde, Poland, Zbigniew Rau and Northern Macedonia, Osmani, to visit Ukraine immediately to verify the facts as part of the early warning. of the OSCE.

“I invite the OSCE Troika, Ann Linde, Zbigniew Rau and Bujar Osmani, to pay an urgent fact-finding visit to Ukraine under the early warning mechanism activated by OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid last week,” he wrote on Twitter. Otherwise, the OSCE troika consists of Poland, which is the current chair until the end of this year, the previous one – Sweden, and Northern Macedonia, which is expected to take the chair in 2023.

Speaking to The Geopost, Osmani said that the whole world should be concerned about what is happening in and around Ukraine, as it is a major security threat.

“It is not only a threat to the security of Europe, but also a threat to the world order, to the sovereignty of states, to the basic principles of the UN, the OSCE …”, he declared. “Of course, this makes us all attentive and careful about what can happen. It makes us more active in preventing a possible escalation.”

As a NATO member, Osmani said that North Macedonia is even more protected from possible escalations within the country. “This allows us to access information that we could not have even imagined two years ago, when we were not a member of NATO. We as a state now have access to all information related to developments in and around Ukraine. In the first place, this allows us to make decisions based on reliable information. And secondly, it gives us the opportunity to contribute and be part of the Alliance in ensuring collective defense”, underlined Osmani.

NATO, according to him, is not an Alliance that threatens Russia or any other country, but is an Alliance for collective defense of member countries. “There are two approaches to resolving the problem: the first is to use diplomatic means with Russia, and the second is to protect each member state from any threat that may come to the region. We hope that Russia will reflect and de-escalate the situation,” he added.

He assessed that the Western Balkans is not that far from that zone of conflict between Ukraine and Russia. “Of course, there are other forms of influence, be it hybrid, political or attempting to defocus. NATO and we as members from this region are in focus on the implication of that crisis in this part of Europe. All countries within NATO are making possible preparations, whether economic, cyber or other consequences that may result from a possible escalation there,” said Osmani.