European integration is our main foreign priority, Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki says in an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA).
"European integration is our main foreign priority because of the possibility to raise living standards in the Republic of Macedonia, because it’s a signal of stability and an opportunity to attract foreign investments, but also because the European integration process is the strongest cohesive factor in the Republic of Macedonia, which unites all political structures and I believe that if credibility is returned to this process it would greatly alleviate the internal political processes which are considered as a prerequisite for further development and for securing a better future for all citizens of the Republic of Macedonia”, Poposki tells Anadolu Agency (AA).
Speaking of the political crisis in the country and the agreement for overcoming the crisis which was signed last year by the largest political parties in the country, Poposki says that last summer with this agreement they in fact agreed upon an exit out of this crisis.
“If we look at what was included in this plan, then the majority of items listed, or I’d rather say, all of them have been implemented, with the exception of one, and that one refers to elections which should have been held in April and then in June. Elections were part of the demands set forth by the largest opposition party and the ruling coalition and opposition parties agreed to hold them”, says Poposki, who believes the exit from this crisis should again be sought through elections, although in his opinion a large part of the obligations assumed last summer have been fulfilled. “We were surprised by the fact that a large portion of extremely difficult obligations were fulfilled in the previous period”, says Minister Poposki.
He believes the only way this country can overcome the crisis is by using its own domestic resources, i.e., through dialogue among the political parties.
“I don’t think anyone from the outside, regardless of where they’re coming from, can solve the problems that exist in the Republic of Macedonia at a political level if we can’t do it ourselves. It is a good thing that we see our European partners and the US show a certain interest, since a large part of these problems probably wouldn’t exist in the first place, or at least they wouldn’t happen in this manner if we had a credible path towards our integration into the European Union and NATO”, underlines Minister Poposki.
He emphasizes that he doesn’t believe the reason behind this lies in certain confrontations, since according to him, political confrontations exist in numerous countries that are part of the EU, but these are surpassed in a much more elegant manner if you are part of the community.
“There are much greater problems in front of you if you face these political confrontations as a result of several blockades that Macedonia has faced on its road to the EU and NATO, if you haven’t got a credible process all citizens can believe in”, says the Macedonian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The results achieved from the implementation of last year’s political agreement and the postponement of the early general elections on two separate occasions, first on April 24, and then on June 5, are seen by Poposki as the opposition’s lack of belief in the usefulness of holding elections.