Eurasia Press & News
Macedonia prepares for closer ties to Kosovo, by establishing full diplomatic relations with its neighbour. An unnamed high level source in the ruling ethnic Albanian political party of Macedonia, told local media on Wednesday.
A political move over which Belgrade could possibly become estranged, was announced shortly after the announcement of Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic, visit to Skopje in early May, said a source from the Democratic Union for Integration, DUI, to Vreme daily.
“The party leadership is convinced that the government will soon establish diplomatic ties with Kosovo and we will insist on that to the fullest extent” the source said, arguing that Macedonia’s PM and main ruling VMRO DPMNE party head, Nikola Grievski, is already preparing for this step.
Both Montenegro and Macedonia recognized Kosovo’s February 2008 declaration of independence this past October. Since then, Macedonia has been stalling the appointment of its Ambassador to Kosovo.
Serbia then called the moves by its Balkan neighbour, a betrayal, and expelled their Ambassador from Belgrade. But recent official correspondence between Serbia and Macedonia has been leaning towards reconciliation. Serbia already invited Macedonia to appoint a new Ambassador.
The source admits that DUI insists on this move in order to boost its shaken popularity among the one quarter of ethnic Albanians in the country, gleaned after the March local and presidential election, where it lost many crucial posts. It says, the formalisation of ties with Kosovo would show that this party is not just a passive participant in Gruevski’s government.
In its effort to claim back rights to this former Serbian province, Belgrade is disputing Kosovo’s independence in front of the International Court of Justice, ICJ, in the Hague.
Macedonia on the other hand has crucial economic ties with both countries, and publicly stated it wants to nurture good political relations with both.
