Pendarovski: NATO will allow expansion of conflicts outside northern Kosovo

The Alliance's “assessments are that the situations there from time to time have come and will come to some point of vision I speak to the north of Kosovo, yet the forces of the Alliance, which will already be reinforced with an additional number of soldiers, are sufficient not to allow the extent of instability in other parts of Kosovo, not just in the north, that means to remain located, much less towards us, or other parts of the region”, President Pendarovski has said.

He has stressed that his country's contribution as a neighbouring country with Kosovo represents contributions to the stability of both Northern Macedonia and the wider region.

“as a NATO member, we directly follow [the situation in Kosovo] and especially as a member of the Alliance, which has its soldiers in Kosovo. Our soldiers are not settled in northern Kosovo, however, we have 65 soldiers there. We intend to stay there, and in the future, to increase this contingent”.

“Basca contributes to security in the region, because if we contribute to the stability of Kosovo, with which we are directly neighbouring, we also contribute to our stability and security”, Pendarovski stressed.

Pendarovski was the host and host of the meeting in Ohrid between top Pristina and Belgrade officials, where he agreed to the Anex of the agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.

Asked if you believe this agreement is still alive, President Stevo Pendarovski cites Borelli's stance during an informal meeting that “situata in Kosovo's north should be resolved regardless of how difficult this process will be, as this issue remains important for the broader European stability and security”.

I'll show you a brief episode from a brief meeting I had at an international airport with [Joseph] Borelli. I asked him the same question as he just returned from the unsuccessful meeting of the talks, so to call you, after Ohrid, the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. He told me his assessment is that much effort must be made to return to the atmosphere that was in Ohrid, there in 12 hours negotiations were held, however, at the end there were products, agreements about implementation, operational plan for implementing the constitutional agreement”.

“Borell said that the atmosphere, as we see it, has obviously deteriorated, the atmosphere in both top centres -- Belgrade and Pristina -- is not appropriate for larger steps in that direction. However, Miroslav Lajcak stressed that our task and the EU special envoy (for dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia), Miroslav Lajcak, remains to try again, because that issue is essential for broader European stability, and for security, and must certainly be resolved in some way in the period before us”, Pendarovski has indicated.

Northern Macedonia's president in an interview for Radio Free Europe has also referred to the problem of false news that the source has Russia in relation to the dispute North Macedonia has with Bulgaria over the issue of language and historical past, though it adds that this impact is not pronounced. / REL