Authorities in Northern Macedonia have condemned Russia’s act of recognizing the regions of Eastern Ukraine as independent states, reports The Geopost.
The President of the state, Stevo Pendarovski, expressed strong support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. “The order based on international law is the basis in international relations, the principles of which must be respected. Serious violation of international law is a threat to civilization,” Pendarovski wrote on Twitter.
Pendarovski’s cabinet informed local media that a Security Council session on the possible effects and consequences of the Ukrainian crisis is not planned at the moment, saying that the country is continuously active within NATO.
Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, meanwhile, condemned the Russian Federation’s decision to recognize the self-proclaimed independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. “I condemn Russia’s decision to recognize Donetsk and Lugansk as self-proclaimed ‘People’s Republics.’ Together with NATO allies, we call for a diplomatic solution to the conflict,” he wrote on Twitter.
The topic for and around Ukraine was one of the main points of the RNM’s Government. The members of the government discussed the security situation but also the necessary measures to ensure the safety of RNM’s members within the OSCE Monitoring Mission, who are in Ukraine. The government has engaged the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani, for this issue, who immediately had a telephone conversation with the OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmidt. “Minister Osmani, as a member of the leading troika, stressed that Northern Macedonia will take an active part in the processes of de-escalation and finding a diplomatic solution through substantive dialogue between the parties involved. At the same time, the Minister expressed support for the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, and stressed our readiness for additional engagement in order to reduce tensions,” the ministry said in a statement.
Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi said he did not believe Russia’s crisis with Ukraine would affect the country’s energy situation, especially not the price of electricity.
“In the part of safe and continuous supply of electricity, especially for households, but also for the economy, I do not believe that we will have any problems and we do not expect restrictions,” said Bekteshi.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi was the first to raise concerns about the consequences of the escalating situation between Russia and Ukraine. In an interview with Macedonian Informative Aagency, he said this could potentially lead to deterioration in European markets.
“It depends on the impact on European energy markets, which has already been felt. It could be worse if something happens, if the situation escalates and prices rise, we have both. Other escalations, depending on the direction of the implications, may be a lack of energy, but this remains a speculative scenario at the moment”, said Besimi.
While most political factors in northern Macedonia have condemned Moscow’s decision to recognize the Ukrainian-majority ethnic Ukrainian regions as independent states, only one party has backed Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
“Putin told them tonight: ‘You loved Kosovo, here are two more,'” Levica Party leader Dimitar Apasiev wrote on Facebook, following the news of Russia’s recognition of Donetsk and Luhansk.