Foreign Minister Nikola Popovski urged coordination between Macedonia and Greece on the question of refugees to rise to a higher level, a higher government level.
“We need coordination with Greece. Currently, there is cooperation between law enforcement officials in terms of exchanging information how many people come from the Greek port of Piraeus, the information needed to prepare for their reception. There is a link between Polikastro and Gevgelija, but we must raise our level of communication between Athens and Skopje. We are concerned by the closure of the border by Serbia, and of the other countries to the north of it. Macedonia is the only country where refugees come from a country which is a member of the European Union and the Schengen zone”, assessed Milososki briefing with Greek journalists who visited Macedonia due to the refugee crisis.
Popovski said that after last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris, he needed to establish a system for verification of refugees passing through the Balkans.
“It’s one thing is if you are coming from Aleppo, where bombs are falling, and its another situation if you come from Karachi in search of a better life in Europe. Both claims are valid, but we must make a distinction between them”, said the Minister.
Popovski stressed that while European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker asked urgently to ensure better cooperation between Macedonia and Greece regarding the refugees, however, Greece is not cooperating, and the EU are not putting more pressure on Greece to change the situation. He recalled that Athens objected to the deployment of a police mission Frontex to the border with Macedonia, because it could hamper the target refugees as soon as possible to leave Greek territory.
Popovski said that trust between the two countries is at a low, and this is reflected in dealing with the refugee crisis. He said that preparing for the recent visit to Greece, where they are planning to discuss confidence-building measures between the two countries.
“Macedonia has normal bilateral relations with almost all countries in the world, and so does Greece. But why between us can we not have a normal relationship? At the meeting I expect to discuss confidence-building measures. We don’t want to find ourselves on an ever ending wheel, the focus of the talks is raising the level of trust between our countries, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikola Popovski.
