Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki stated that Macedonia expects to receive a date for start of the negotiations with the European Union, despite Greece’s threats that it would veto such decision and despite the violence at the elections.

“We are not prepared to become a member of the European Union tomorrow, but we are prepared to start the negotiations for membership. I think that we will be given an opportunity for this, this year,” Milososki said during his visit to the EU Head Office in Brussels on Tuesday. The foreign minister stated that, following the violence at the elections on 1 June, Macedonia would not agree to be held hostage by a few individuals who do not understand the democratic processes in the country, and he announced zero tolerance for such individuals. Foreign Minister Milososki accused Greece of imposing “an atypical embargo” on Macedonia, following the more and more frequent incidents at the border crossings, on the roads in Greece, and in the trade between the two countries.