Turkey’s undivided support for North Macedonia was expressed by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan after the meeting he had today in Skopje with his North Macedonian counterpart, Timco Mutsunski. In fact, he “marketed” products of the Turkish war industry and also used the name “Macedonia” without “North”.
“As you know, I have visited Macedonia and Skopje many times in various roles over the past 20 years. Turkey has strongly supported North Macedonia since its independence and will continue to do so. We had intensive talks today. We greatly value the cooperation, friendship and alliance with Macedonia. We discussed how we can upgrade this partnership. As Turkey, we express our interest to proceed with the establishment of a High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council” said Hakan Fidan.
The Turkish Foreign Minister also referred to the economic relations between the two countries. “Turkey aims to increase bilateral economic cooperation to two billion euros and we will continue to support Turkish companies to invest in the country,” said Turkey’s foreign minister.
“North Macedonia has a special place for me”, emphasized Hakan Fidan and added that he believes that the Ottoman heritage is an important part of the country’s cultural heritage and they will continue cooperation in this area.
“The Turkish community in the country connects us closely, like the Stone Bridge in Skopje. We want to develop relations between all communities and to maintain this harmony in North Macedonia. I believe that the new government will have a positive approach regarding the requests for mother tongue teaching and infrastructure projects of the Turkish community. At the same time, I believe that the new government will have a sensitive approach to the fight against terrorism, led by “FETO”, because it is not only a threat to Turkey, but also to all countries where it is present. We expect North Macedonia to support more strongly the fight against “FETO”, the Turkish Foreign Minister added.
The Balkans, according to Hakan Fidan, are of geostrategic importance and this region contributes directly to the peace and stability of Europe. “We want to have peace and stability in all the Balkans, this is a key priority for us and as Turkey we are actively participating in this direction. Turkey in the Balkans always has a proactive attitude and we will intensify our efforts even more, thanks to the cooperation with North Macedonia, a country located in the heart of the Balkans”, emphasized the Turkish Foreign Minister.
Military cooperation
According to him, Turkey also attaches great importance to strengthening military cooperation with North Macedonia. “In this context, I believe that issues such as military training and participation in military exercises will gain significant momentum in the near future. Our country’s defense industry companies occupy leading positions worldwide and I would like to emphasize that these companies are ready to contribute to North Macedonia” noted its Foreign Minister? Turkey.
Hakan Fidan, during his statements in Skopje, used both the term “North Macedonia” and simply the term “Macedonia”.
North Macedonia’s foreign minister said during the joint statements that “Turkey is a proven friend of ours and an ally in NATO.”
Timco Mutsunski characterized today’s visit as an important moment in bilateral relations, and underlined that, as the first visit of a foreign minister since he assumed the duties of the foreign minister of North Macedonia, it is a strong confirmation of the increasingly strong strategic partnership.
“Traditionally, good relations positively influence economic cooperation. We share common positions with Turkey on security and regional issues. I informed him in particular about our path towards European integration, emphasizing that predictability is very important”, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia.
Timcho Muchunski added that “our country, since its independence, could count on Turkey as our friend and supporter for the achievement of our strategic goals.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, during his visit to Skopje today, also met with the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Christian Mickoski and with the Speaker of the Parliament of the country, Afrim Gasi.
Read also:
France: With mass demonstrations the response to the “coup” of Macron who appointed Barnier as prime minister
Tension is rising again in Kosovo: Parallel institutions for the Serbian minority are abolished – “Fire” from Belgrade
Cyprus: Serious complaint against Christofides for money laundering – Letter to the Audit Service
#Turkey #flirts #North #Macedonia #Fidans #visit #Skopje
