TIRANA – Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditmir Bushati told a TV political show on Monday evening that a tense situation in Macedonia has fortunately not turned into an inter-ethnic crisis, ATA reports.
“We have expressed support for a platform of Macedonia’s Albanian political factor in a bid to push for implementation of the incomplete Ohrid Framework Agreement and make way for Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic path and create a better climate with its neighbours. The roots of this crisis are of political and democratic nature. It is not the case to talk about an inter-ethnic crisis and let’s hope it will not deteriorate to such level,” Bushati said at Top Story political show.
Bushati added that the crisis showed Gruevski and Ivanov resorting to an entirely anti-Albanian rhetoric, “considering Albanians as seasonal workers at their own country.”
Albania’s diplomacy chief noted that the so-called Albanian platform has been used by Gruevski’s VMRO DPMNE party and President Ivanov as an alibi.
“The Albanian parties in Macedonia have held negotiations with both VMRO and LSDM parties. The Albanian platform was initially accepted by VMRO, but they disagreed about the Special Prosecutor and extension of the Prosecutor’s mandate,” Bushati said.
Foreign Minister Bushati added that no instructions have been issued from international partners and there is no preference from Albanian parties to form an alliance specifically with the LSDM, adding “a full implementation of the Albanian platform requires the understanding of the entire Macedonian factor.”
“A good portion of issues included in this platform cannot be implemented if there is no understanding from the Macedonian factor. Some of them require Constitutional amendments, which cannot be done without two thirds of the votes,” he concluded.