- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) handed over Tuesday a note of protest to Greece's ambassador to Macedonia, Alexandra Papadopoulou in relation to the case involving stickers put on new vehicle registration plates owned by Macedonian citizens when entering Greece, urging this "illegitimate practice" to stop.

We have a shared historical and cultural past and a shared goal – Euro-Atlantic integration, said Enver Hoxhaj, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo after meeting his Macedonian counterpart Nikola Poposki in Skopje Monday.

Both minister confirmed their commitment to EU integration, promotion of good neighborly relations and economic cooperation and promotion of the region as an economically good location for investments and tourism.

The dialogue on a technical level between representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Greece and Macedonia is going to resume in Skopje in autumn. Macedonia expects the meeting to produce genuine progress as regards a number of issues. It should also be a sign that Athens has completely abandoned the politics of Karamanlis, former Greek prime minister, who put on hold all bilateral contacts when the United State of America recognized Macedonia under its constitutional name in November of 2004.

Although Athens and Skopje had a number of meetings on a high bilateral level (between prime ministers and ministers of foreign affairs), there was almost no communication and political meetings between the ministries of foreign affairs or any other government bodies. As a result of the stalemate, no agreements were being signed between the two countries. The scarce communication drew upon very old agreements from the time of former SFRY or the principles of the Interim Accord, which produced a few memorandums or protocols for cooperation.

- PM Nikola Gruevski met Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Saint Petersburg. Following the meeting, Gruevski stated that this represents a new impulse for the countries' economic cooperation, because we got a positive reaction for Macedonia's inclusion into the South Stream energy project and the gasification project in the country. Gruevski formally opened the Macedonian Honorary Consulate in Saint Petersburg.

-    The Russian company Stroytransgaz specializing in construction of systems for transport of gas is going to build the gas pipeline in Macedonia, according to the memorandum to be signed Thursday by Macedonian government officials and representatives of Stroytransgaz. The plan for collecting the clearing debt from the Russian Federation through building a gas pipeline along the Klecovce-Stip-Negotino-TEC Negotino-Kavadarci route will be realized in this way. It will be the main gas transportation artery in Macedonia.

Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski and Russian Deputy-Minister of Education and Science Inna Bilenkina signed Tuesday an agreement for recognition of documents over acquired education and academic titles.

- PM Nikola Gruevski who is paying a visit to the Russian Federation participated Monday at a business forum in Moscow and he is to meet with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in St. Petersburg. This meeting is supposed to give a new signal in the relations between the two countries.

The settlement of the clearing debt of the Russian Federation with the construction of a gas pipeline in Macedonia and introducing charter flights between the two countries was announced by Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in his interview with the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS, given before his visit to Russia.

PM Gruevski stresses in his interview that it is important for Macedonia to realize a more concrete cooperation with Russia in the field of energy.

“Our two countries have struck an initial deal for settlement of the clearing debt of the Russian Federation accrued during the time we were still part of former Yugoslavia. That settlement could be effectuated through building a gas pipeline along the Klecovce-Stip-TEC Negotino-Kavadarci route, Macedonia’s main gas transportation artery,” he says.

Macedonians speaking the Macedonian language live in this country and that is something the Greeks cannot change whatever their blackmail, said Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski at a public debate in the municipality of Petrovec on Thursday.

“They should get the idea of changing the identity of the people of Macedonia through blackmails off their minds. It existed, exists and will continue existing,” Gruevski said.

He underlined that the pressure from Macedonia’s southern neighbor will not succeed.

- Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov is to participate Friday at the Summit of South-East European countries in Belgrade. Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki will also attend the summit and present the priorities of the Macedonian presidency of the South-East European Cooperation Process.

I trust that the endless story of the name will soon be over. Macedonia deserves that this issue be resolved. I believe that the new Greek government, after the elections, will be interested in making a contribution, Franco Frattini, former Italian Foreign Minister and EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, told Deutsche Welle, underlining the support from Italy that Macedonian may count on in “overcoming this pending problem and creating a climate of trust so the EU can finally set Macedonia a date for opening membership negotiations.”

Frattini believes that Europe should not stop the process of enlargement, which, in his view, has been a positive experience. Unlike Frattini, Eckart D. Stratenschulte, director of the European Academy Berlin, believes that upon the admission of Croatia and maybe Iceland, a longer break in the process of enlargement would ensue.

The crisis in the eurozone, the financial stability and the high unemployment rate in the European Union are expected to be the chief priorities in the course of the Cyprian Presidency of the Union. The admission of new members is hardly likely to be put on Cyprus’s list of priorities. Resolving the debt crisis will be in the focus instead. However, if enlargement appears on the agenda after all, Macedonia cannot expect much from the Cyprian Presidency considering that as far as the foreign policy toward Macedonia goes, Nicosia does what Athens tells it to do.

Experts emphasize that the presiding country may exert an influence in adding an issue to the priority list. However, the influence is limited when it comes to more important decisions, such as enlargement. Defining priorities is not of concern only to the presiding country but of all member states given that the chair’s program reflects the mood of the entire Union.

- Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki met Tuesday in Madrid with Spanish counterpart José Manuel García-Margallo y Marfil. Poposki was assured that Spain, despite the problems that EU is facing, remains dedicated to seeing the Balkans in the European family.

The Macedonian Government has appealed to Bulgaria not to open a second front against Macedonia on its path to Brussels in view of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s recent statement that for Sofia the proposal of Northern Macedonia for resolving the name issue between Macedonia and Greece was unacceptable for it suggested territorial claims against Bulgaria.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski welcomed Sunday his Bulgarian counterpart Borisov’s statement, or more specifically, the part in which he says that Macedonia should become a NATO member state.

“First, I would like to welcome the part of the statement in which Mr. Borisov says that Macedonia should become a NATO member state. That is a standing deserving of praise and respect. Second, as far as the name issue is concerned, I would like to say that we have a bilateral dispute with Greece in the resolution of which we are investing a great deal of effort and we are going to continue working on its resolution. We are open to hear all suggestions and views from all other countries yet in the end a solution has to be found that would be accepted by the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia in a referendum,” Gruevski stressed.

The joint Macedonia-EU Parliamentary Committee appealed to the Council of the European Union to confirm the recommendation of the European Commission and set Macedonia a date for opening accession talks in the course of the next Cyprian Presidency of the EU that begins on 1 July this year. The Committee, chaired by Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, German MEP of Greek descent , expresses regret in the draft Resolution for the omission of the adjective ‘Macedonian’ in reference to the identity, culture and language of the country in the Commission’s report on Macedonia’s progress in 2011 and recommends the European Commission to reestablish the practice of the previous progress reports, Dnevnik reports.

One of the main issues discussed at the meeting of the Committee was the name issue. The Resolution takes into consideration the Judgment of the International Court of Justice and appeals to the governments of both countries to resolve the issue either within the framework of the talks conducted with UN mediation or in direct bilateral talks. It also urges the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the Enlargement Commissioner to facilitate the reaching of the agreement, thus contributing to regional stability.

-    Finland supports Macedonia’s EU membership, said Finnish President Sauli Niinisto at the meeting with Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski in Helsinki Wednesday. The two officials talked about the bilateral relations, Macedonia’s aspiration for joining the EU and NATO and the name issue as an impediment to these processes.

Prosecutor General Ljupco Svrgovski gave up prosecuting SDSM leader Branko Crvenkovski and the news agency MIA. The Prosecution did not find anything that could suggest a possibility for Crvenkovski and MIA to have committed the crime of giving away state secrets.

The Prosecution’s key argument for withdrawing from further investigation is the fact that there no “state secret” seal on the document that Crvenkovski presented in public.

Prosecutor Svrgovski explained that the document of the name issue talks bore the sign of “strictly confidential” but not “state secret.”

- President Gjorge Ivanov attended Sunday the 10th UNESCO Regional Summit of the Heads of States of South East Europe, entitled 'Religious, Cultural and Historical Heritage as a Foundation for More Intensive Cooperation among States'.

 

- On the occasion of the holiday of Ss Cyril and Methodius, a prayer was held for the 44th time at the Church of St Clement in Rome attended by a Macedonian state and church delegation led by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. Previously, in Vatican, PM Gruevski was received by Pope Benedict XVI to whom he gave a valuable Macedonian icon.

Of all countries supporting Macedonia that promised to try and raise the issue of Macedonia’s NATO membership at the summit of the Alliance in Chicago, Turkey was the most persistent, diplomatic sources who attended the summit told Dnevnik. According to them, during the sessions, the Turkish officials had several bilateral talks with the Greek representatives concerning Macedonia and the invitation for NATO membership. Turkey urged the Greek officials to allow a debate to be opened among all participants regarding NATO’s enlargement at which Greece would voice its stance regarding the invitation for Macedonia’s NATO membership rather than block Macedonia’s membership before such a debate was even opened. In this way, Dnevnik’s sources say, it would have become clear whether Greece would breach again the Interim Accord with a new veto despite last year’s Judgment of the International Court of Justice regarding the conduct of official Athens at the NATO summit in Bucharest four years ago. Albania and Croatia also insisted that the Greek officials abandon their rigid demands.

The NATO summit in Chicago ended with the same conclusion for Macedonia as the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008 – Macedonia will be invited to join the Alliance only after it resolves its name issue with Greece, Vest reports.

The NATO member states adopted Sunday a declaration of a total of 65 items, two of which mention Macedonia.

“We repeat the agreement of the summit in Bucharest of 2008. In order to extend Macedonia an invitation for membership of the Alliance, an acceptable solution to the name issue has to be found first within the UN. Also, we strongly encourage the intensive effort in this regard,” the conclusion about Macedonia says.

According to the declaration, Macedonia’s swift accession to NATO will stand for safety and stability in the region.

-    Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Chicago that the Greek veto was not going to defocus Macedonia from its partnership with NATO and the vision of a safer world. In spite of all drawbacks and challenges, Macedonia will continue to seek its deserved place in the European and Euro-Atlantic families. He believes the Hague Judgment seeks a new approach from the NATO member states – an approach that implies honoring of international law.

Three days before the NATO summit in Chicago, Turkey is said to be preparing a surprise in Macedonia’s favor.  The two high-level visits – Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki’s to Ankara and Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek’s to Skopje – show that efforts are being intensively coordinated to obtain a new NATO conclusion. Cicek refused to reveal what kind of conclusion that would be, saying that both presidents would be in Chicago doing all it takes and that the Turkish position with regard to The Hague judgment is clear, Utrinski vesnik reports.

Similar announcement have come out of Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov’s office as well. At the meeting on Afghanistan, President Ivanov is going to appeal that the Judgment of the International Court of Justice be included in the NATO conclusions. Macedonia obviously counts on the support of Ankara before Chicago and Turkey should be the country to lead those that would raise the Macedonian issue at the summit.

- Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki, who is paying an official visit to Turkey, met Wednesday with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and discussed about the coming NATO Summit in Chicago. Gul voiced Turkey's full support for Macedonia's integration to NATO and reiterated the position that it was necessary Macedonia to join NATO as soon as possible, which will be personally advocated by him at the Chicago event.

- A Macedonian delegation composed of President Gjorge Ivanov and Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs Fatmir Besimi and Nikola Poposki on Monday are to meet NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton following the NATO Summit in Chicago. Unofficially, Ivanov will be able to present the arguments why Macedonia deserves to become a NATO member.

Fourteen people that participated in the stoning of the Government and the BDI Headquarters in Cair on Friday have been identified. The police continue to check the footage of the protests to determine who else took part in the violent protests culminating with attacks against a few journalists, cameramen and police officers that were injured. Criminal charges will be pressed against the violent participants in the protests that took place after the Friday prayer at the mosques in a few cities across the country.

“Based on the videos, 14 persons from Skopje aged 18-39 have been identified. In a consultation with the Basic Public Prosecution, they will be charged with participation in a crowd that committed a criminal offence,” said Ivo Kotevski, Assistant Interior Minister for Information.

- Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki, from 14 to 16 May, is to pay an official visit to the Republic of Turkey and an agreement on traveling conditions for nationals from both countries will be signed within the frames of the visit.

Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and the government delegation met with Wan Jifei, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in Beijing on Monday. The good political relations between the two countries and the commitment to intensifying the economic relations were stressed at the meeting. Prime Minister Gruevski presented the incentives and conditions that Macedonia offers for starting and doing business. He addressed also the government support for the companies deciding to invest or having already invested in Macedonia.

Mr. Jifei positively assessed the measures and activities of the Macedonian Government for promotion of the economic interests and expressed serious interest in promoting cooperation further and in conducting additional and advanced commercial and technical analyses of certain projects.

With the aim of promoting processes, Visar Fida, Director of the Macedonian Agency for Foreign Investments and Export Promotion, and Jufei, Chairman of the Chinese Council for the Promotion of International Trade, signed the Memorandum on Cooperation between the two institutions. The government delegation, paying a 5-day visit to China, is going to visit a number of cities and hold business presentations before Chinese businessmen.

-    A Macedonian delegation led by PM Gruevski is paying a 5 day visit to China. Gruevski is set to meet his counterpart Wen Jiabao. Gruevski will also address a number of business forums in Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and Hong Kong, at which he will present the possibilities for investment in Macedonia.

Around ten thousand Albanians protested in Skopje against, as they said to the media, the staged processes against Albanians that take place in Macedonia. The reason for this is the result of the police investigation on the multiple murders in Smilkovci one month ago when five Macedonians were executed. The police arrested twenty persons and filed criminal charges for murder against six of them, two of whom on the run. The protests are organized due to the published analyses of policemen that the organizers of the execution are radical Islamists.

Protests started Friday afternoon in Tetovo and Kumanovo. 200 persons gathered on Tetovo’s city square and headed toward the court and announced that they would head toward the BDI headquarters in Mala Recica. Protests started in Kumanovo and resumed toward the court, the municipal building and police.

The protests began after Friday’s prayer in the mosques and few thousands citizens in Skopje started walking from the Jaja Pasa mosque to Macedonian courts under strong police security. The protestors gave a press-release to journalists, which will also be sent to the international community. The press-release reads that they “honestly share the pain with the families of the killed Macedonians and demand the murderers to be brought before justice.”

- Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski sent a letter to the leaders of NATO member-states in which he reminds of the contribution of the Republic of Macedonia to the realization of NATO-led international peacekeeping missions. Gruevski is sure that Macedonia’s NATO accession will not only benefit the region's stability, security and prosperity but at the same time stimulate the creation of trust between Macedonia and Greece.