Macedonian-Russian Relations

[Gocka]

So when anyone comments on Albanians, Kosovo, Albania, Islam, or anything remotely connected to Albanians, its considered an insult and has the potential to "destabilize" the region.

When the Albanian prime minister claims that a greater Albania will prevail one way or another, this is .....? Perfectly okay I suppose in deluded Albanian victim logic.

Nothing Albanians do is inflammatory and destabilizing even when their actions are intended to be as such we all just have to accept it and look the other way, but they threaten to cause destabilization every time anyone so much as looks at them the wrong way.

Also they should stop using the word destabilization and just call it what it is "we will pick up our guns and act like terrorists if we dont get our way"

[makedonche]

So when anyone comments on Albanians, Kosovo, Albania, Islam, or anything remotely connected to Albanians, its considered an insult and has the potential to "destabilize" the region.

When the Albanian prime minister claims that a greater Albania will prevail one way or another, this is .....? Perfectly okay I suppose in deluded Albanian victim logic.

Nothing Albanians do is inflammatory and destabilizing even when their actions are intended to be as such we all just have to accept it and look the other way, but they threaten to cause destabilization every time anyone so much as looks at them the wrong way.

Also they should stop using the word destabilization and just call it what it is "we will pick up our guns and act like terrorists if we dont get our way"

Gocka
Agreed.......and we know the only solution that is permanent!

[iceman]

US-Russia Round Three: Macedonia

S-Russia Round Three: Macedonia
The forces of chaos and stability set to lock horns once again

Andrew Korybko Subscribe to 194 Fri, May 15 | 6,416 59
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Battle for Macedonia is on
The U.S. and Russia are currently involved in heated competition amidst the New Cold War, with their latest rivalry threatening to turn hot over Macedonia. They had already duked it out over Ukraine (and still are, to a large extent), and a deadly stalemate has now settled over Syria as the U.S. covert war on the country drags through its fourth year.

The latest flare-up between the two Great Powers is now gearing up to be for Macedonia, with the U.S. following the template it’s learned in the previous two cases to throw the country into chaos during the forthcoming 17 May Color Revolution offensive. The terrorists intercepted last weekend in Kumanovo were supposed to have coordinated their attacks with the Color Revolutionaries during this Sunday’s destabilization, which would have symbolized the strategic merger between the Color Revolution and Unconventional War elements of the U.S. regime change toolkit.

With all eyes on Macedonia to see what will happen this Sunday, it’s worth recalling the previous two rounds of their confrontation in better understanding how Round Three represents the seamless continuation of their New Cold War rivalry.

Same Scenario, Different States

What’s occurring in Macedonia is incontestably the continuation of tried-and-tested American destabilization tactics, and it follows the exact same scenario as what occurred in Syria and Ukraine before it.

Theme:

The underlying theme connecting Syria, Ukraine, and now Macedonia is that they’re proxy wars between the U.S. and Russia, with Washington playing the destructive offensive role while Russia holds the stabilizing defense.

To explain, the U.S. strives to force regime change on those targeted states, while Russia actively works to reinforce their governments in resisting the attack. Russian-Ukrainian and Russian-Syrian strategic collaboration during their regime change crisis is well-known, but in the case of Russian-Macedonian relations, ties are much more sensitive and lurk mostly in the shadows. Due to Macedonia’s ‘official’ policy of wanting to join NATO and the EU, its government and intelligence services cannot be publicly associated in cooperating with their Russian counterparts, hence why such relationships are kept in the shadows.


Czech President Milos Zeman (L) and Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov (R) in Kremlin, 09 May 2015
While one may doubt whether such ties exist, they can only help but wonder whether Russian intelligence helped expose the massive wiretapping coup attempt to the Macedonian government, especially since adroit foreign (read: Western) intelligence is to blame for the conspiracy. Additionally, the appointment of an alumni from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations as the Macedonian Ambassador to Russia speaks loudly about Skopje’s intention to deepen ties with Moscow. On top of that, Russia supported Macedonia when the Gosince terrorist test-run occurred and later voiced strong condemnation of the Kumanovo terrorist attack and Zaev’s Color Revolution attempt.

Macedonia was also one of the few European countries to send its President to Moscow to attend the Victory Day celebrations and not enact sanctions against Russia, and during the visit of Gjorge Ivanov to the Russian capital, he had the honor in meeting with Patriarch Kirill, a privilege typically reserved for important Russian partners.

Taken together, one can see that Russia has rapidly cultivated influence with the Macedonian state as part of its larger Balkan Stream plans, and it should be taken as a given that intelligence collaboration and counter-Color Revolution support is also involved.

Pattern:

The U.S. has patterned a distinct template of regime change that’s visibly discernable in Macedonia, after having of course been perfected in Syria and Ukraine first. When a country is targeted for asymmetrical attack, the U.S. deploys a Color Revolution attempt in order to promote ‘soft’ destabilization (which as can be seen from the Syrian and EuroMaidan innovations, actually involves quite a lot of bloodshed). Should this tactic fail to dislodge the democratically elected and legitimate government, then the U.S. begins pursuing an Unconventional War (terrorism and insurgency) to pile on the pressure and hope that it’s enough to topple the authorities. The final scenario in all cases is to provoke a conventional military intervention if the previous two regime change attempts are unsuccessful, although such a force is nowadays expected to be disguised as a ‘humanitarian intervention’/’responsibility to protect’/’anti-terrorism’ operation.

The U.S. succeeded in overthrowing Ukraine’s government with a Color Revolution, but this didn’t come to pass in Syria, hence the escalation to an Unconventional War. The same thing is happening in Macedonia right now, even down to the ISIL-trained fighters. The Color Revolution is flailing, ergo why it’s morphing into an Unconventional War.

The U.S. has purposely resurrected one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the Balkans, the Kosovo Liberation Army, in order to incite ethnic divisions between Albanian and Slavic Macedonians and facilitate its regime change plans. At the same time, however, it’s taking a somewhat novel approach by keeping the Color Revolution on life support and attempting to integrate it into the Unconventional War.

The strategy here is to apply dual mechanisms of pressure that can engage in ‘friendly competition’ with one another in seeing which can overthrow the government first. The only reason that this concept is even considered and that the Color Revolution hasn’t totally fizzled out by this time is because it’s gained some support from dissatisfied youth groups who have been manipulated into joining the anti-government protests.

With the Color Revolution kept alive by a collection of youth and their heavily publicized tweets and protests, and the Unconventional War dependent on terrorism, the regime change operations’ social foundations are extremely weak, yet they have the potential for massive expansion if the 17 May destabilization events can gather more adults and Albanians (either through enticement or provocation).


Isis fighters in Syrian with US weapons and tank captured from US trained and armed Iraq army.
Scorecard:

In preparation for the ‘next round’, let’s take stock of where the two contenders stand thus far:

2011-Present: Syria

The U.S. began a local Color Revolution in Syria along the lines of the regional theater-wide one code-named the ‘Arab Spring’. After being resolutely defeated by the patriotic population, it transformed on command to an Unconventional War directly supported by the country’s treacherous Turkish, Israeli, and Jordanian neighbors.

Right now the situation is at a standstill as the U.S. and its allies pump more terrorists, guns, and money into the conflict and Russia continues equipping its decades-long Syrian ally in fighting back against the aggression.

2013-2014: Ukraine

Like in Syria, the U.S. began a Color Revolution in Ukraine against the government, but this one was a lot more successful. Within a few months, it toppled the government and swept to power in Kiev, representing a symbolic American victory against Russian interests.

However, the subsequent reunification with Crimea and civil war over Donbass makes one question whether or not this was a pyrrhic victory for Washington, and the final verdict has yet to be handed down.

2015-Present: Macedonia

Following its template, the U.S. began with a Color Revolution and is now calling up its Unconventional War cavaliers to enact a hybrid regime change push against the government. Russia has made large strides in expanding its partnership with Macedonia in recent months, but the most fruitful portion of their interactions focusing on the intelligence services and counter-Color Revolution strategies will likely never be able to be fully assessed.

Right now, all sides are racing to position themselves in anticipation of 17 May when the Color Revolutionaries and Unconventional Warriors prepare to face-off against the government and its citizens, in a date that will ‘formalize’ Round Three in the US-Russian geopolitical New Cold War.

From Energy Wars To Hot Wars

All three of the geopolitical conflicts in the New Cold War are intertwined with the US’ energy strategy in Eurasia and Washington’s will to dominate key transit routes in the supercontinent:

Syria:

President Bashar Assad had agreed to create the Friendship Pipeline with Iran and Iraq in order to transport Gulf gas to the burgeoning EU market. This clashed with Qatar and Saudi Arabia’s plans for a rival pipeline to go through Jordan and Syria and support the EU with their own non-Iranian resources. After President Assad rejected the Gulf Monarchies in favor of his long-standing Iranian allies, the decision was made to overthrow his government and the Color Revolution and related Unconventional War were launched a few years later after the supportive infrastructure had been established.

As of now, the Friendship Pipeline hasn’t been built and the plethora of challenges physically standing in its way might mean that it likely won’t be any time soon. This in turn keeps the EU within the unipolar sphere of U.S. influence since Washington prevented a major multipolar energy source from directly exporting to its proxy bloc. The next step was thus to neutralize the only non-American-controlled supplier feeding the EU, Russia, by hijacking one of its most important geostrategic routes and placing it under the control of the U.S.


Ukraine:

In this battle, the U.S. maneuvered to gain control over critical pipelines traversing Ukraine’s territory, knowing that this would put it in a position of influence over both the EU and Russia; the former would be dependent on an American proxy for supplies, while enormous amounts of the latter’s budget revenue reaped through the said pipelines would immediately fall under American geopolitical influence.

While the U.S. did succeed in gaining control of Ukraine’s geostrategic transit area and scuttling South Stream, it didn’t anticipate that Russia would counter these moves with Turkish/Balkan Stream and mandate that all Ukrainian-destined energy exports bediscontinued by 2019. In one grand move, Russia reversed the US’ geo-energy (but not the geo-military) successes from its coup in Kiev.

Macedonia:

As a direct consequence of the US’ War on Ukraine and Russia’s Turkish/Balkan Stream countermeasures, the War on Macedonia has begun. The U.S. is adamant about destroying Turkish/Balkan Stream, seeing its very existence as a slight to America’s strategic calculations and ‘success’ in Ukraine.

On top of that, it wants to do whatever it can to prevent Russian influence from taking hold in the Balkans via the pipeline plans, fearing that such a development could trigger a ‘multipolar coup’ in the EU’s strategically vulnerable backdoor region. Geopolitics dictate that Macedonia is the chokepoint for any North-South integration through the Balkans, hence the frenzied competition between the U.S. and Russia over its stability and strategic trajectory.

The future of the Balkans quite literally runs through Macedonia, and its disposition towards either the unipolar or multipolar world will have continental-wide reverberations and directly influence the nature of US-EU and EU-Russian relations.

The Never-Ending Struggle

All conflicts in Eurasia essentially come down to being between the Exceptionalists and the Integrationalists, with the examined context finding the former represented by Greater Albania and the latter by the Balkan Stream countries.

Russia is preparing to use the pipeline as a springboard for intensifying full spectrum cooperation with all the countries along its route, thereby meaning that Balkan Stream is more than just a piece of physical energy infrastructure, but is instead an attractive alternative to haphazard EU integration and a magnet for multipolarity. Moscow’s refreshing recognition of its partners’ sovereignty and independence sets it apart from Washington and Brussels, hence why it’s gaining such wide support in the region over such a short period of time.

Faced with such a surging and well-received competitor, the unipolar world decided to sabotage its rival by finally activating the ticking time bomb of Greater Albania, which would throw the region into chaos and disrupt the multipolar integration taking place beyond its control.

This template — a multipolar anchor pursuing independent integrational projects that contravene the existing unipolar order — is being repeated all across Eurasia by Russia, China, and Iran: Moscow is pursuing the Balkan Stream and Eurasian Union; Tehran attempted to build the Friendship Pipeline, wants to build a pipeline to India, and is now in the process of constructing a Chinese-financed pipeline to Pakistan; and China is pursuing the Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Road.

The combined pan-Eurasian scope of these three multipolar anchors’ integrational projects means that there’s scarcely any place in the supercontinent that isn’t a potential battleground between the Exceptionalists and the Integrationalists. As such, due to the convergence of interests between Russia, China, and Iran in reinforcing Eurasian stability as the most solid guarantee of facilitating their grand integrational strategies, these three civilization-states must absolutely intensify their trilateral relations and cooperatively work together in helping one another actualize their plans.

A unified full-spectrum framework of assistance to each of their partner states presents the most surefire method in guaranteeing their security and counteracting any conventional and asymmetrical destabilizations that the unipolar world bears upon them in wrath.

Concluding Thoughts

The unipolar and multipolar worlds are once more clashing in Eurasia, this time in the tiny Balkan country of Macedonia. A major proxy war is unfolding between the U.S. and Russia over this geostrategic state, and it’s following the exact same patterns of the previous conflicts in Syria and Ukraine. As with the prior two, the U.S. once more wants to gain control of a key energy route and preempt it from becoming a platform for multipolarity, and it’s resorting to a Color Revolution and Unconventional War to attain its objective.

Russia, on the other hand, is again on the defensive, once more indirectly supporting a beleaguered partner in surviving the unipolar onslaught. Everything is coming to a head on 17 May when the Color Revolutionaries/Unconventional Warriors have planned their next regime change push, and it’s up to Macedonians and their government (with Russian intelligence and strategic guidance) to repulse the aggressors and protect their homeland from destruction.

Given the enormous long-term strategic stakes involved (liberating Europe with multipolarity or keeping it shackled in unipolarity), the Third Round of the US-Russian geopolitical confrontation might be its most climactic one yet.

[Big Bad Sven]

Macedonia's lipstick protester: 'I saw the policeman smile very slightly'

Jasmina Golubovska, who planted crimson kiss on riot shield, says it is a civic duty to continue demonstrating against government

Pressed up against riot police lined up outside the Macedonian government building, a young woman was photographed applying her lipstick, staring straight into the reflective plastic shield in front of her. As the policemen moved forward, later photos show, one shield had the mark of a crimson kiss.

The woman’s calm defiance in the crush at last week’s anti-government demonstrations was shared widely on Facebook and Twitter, first by young Macedonians and then around the world.

She is Jasmina Golubovska, a 30-year-old political analyst for the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, and a seasoned activist campaigning to hasten the downfall of a government accused by its opponents of mass wiretapping, cronyism and the cover-up of a young man’s killing.

More than 1,000 protesters clashed with riot police in the capital, Skopje, demonstrating against the alleged cover-up of the killing of 22-year-old Martin Neskovski, who is said to have been beaten to death by an interior ministry policeman in 2011.

“Neskovski’s brother and mother had pushed to the front of the crowds and towards the parliament building. Our natural instinct was to go towards them, to shield them, because we saw the police were being quite pushy,” Golubovska told the Guardian. “The riot police in full equipment were suddenly across the parliament building, ready to meet us.”

Trapped against the shields and unable to get closer to the government buildings, Golubovska was at the front for two hours without moving. “I was talking to the policeman, saying gently to him that he should join us, that he didn’t have to follow orders, his duty was to the people and the constitution,” she said.

“I told him my father was a retired police officer, I told him that I understood how hard it was for him. And then I asked if I could draw a heart on his shield, but he didn’t like that at all.”

With the lipstick in her hand, she asked if she could use his shield as a mirror. “And then I very quickly kissed the shield,” she said. “He didn’t move but I did see him smile, very slightly.”

Allegations over Neskovski’s death have emerged from the latest in a series of leaks from a treasure trove of wiretaps obtained by the Social Democrat opposition leader, Zoran Zaev, who claims he was given them by a whistleblower.

It was reported this week that Macedonia’s interior minister was allegedly among those who conspired to cover-up the killing, at a rally Neskovski attended in support of the prime minister.

It is alleged that the government has wiretapped more than 20,000 people ranging from the media and judiciary to police and diplomats. The government denies the allegations.

“We have been protesting for a long time, calling for the government to resign en masse, but [the revelations about] Neskovski was a particularly strong emotion for a lot of people, we have demonstrated every year since he died,” Golubovska said. “The government have been lying to the people from their own mouths and through the media – for so many years, blatantly lying.”

More mass protests in the capital are being organised for this Sunday, to demand the resignation of the prime minister, Nikola Gruevski, and to call for the release of two student leaders currently in detention.

“It is our civic duty and we won’t stop until we have a new interim government to appoint new unpartisan judges and prosecutors, until new elections,” she said.

Golubovska said she had been inundated with messages from Macedonians saying her picture had inspired them to come out to protest. “That is most important to me, they said that they know now they should not be afraid,” she said. “But, yes, it is a little bit strange for me,” she added.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/13/macedonia-lipstick-protester-jasmina-golubovska

Interesting article, i remember when Moldova had a failed 'revolution' the soros media picked out 2 very attractive protesters to be the 'face' of the revolution. Seems like they are trying something like this again in Macedonia. Pretty cheesy stuff to be honest.

Its rather amusing to see who always turns up to these types of protests: wannabe communist students, hippies, feminists and for this case SDSM supporters and shiptars. And of course the Soros/West "journalists'"

Thankfully this girl never became a "Star" or some sort of "icon" for "freedom"
\

[iceman]

What is the Kremlin Trying to Tell us?

What is the Kremlin Trying to Tell us?
Wednesday, 20 May 2015



The second press release Kremlin has issued in the past three months which refers directly to Macedonia, speaks volumes of how Russia feels about Macedonia lately. The messages Putin's administration keeps sending us via press releases are a pig in a poke. The country which almost an year ago announced to Serbia - its strongest ally on the Balkans - it will cut gas deliveries due to unpaid debt of some hundred million of euros (ridiculous sum of money for Russia), and then included it in the "Turkish Stream", is now becoming directly involved in the case of Macedonia for the first time. It is sending it messages.

The first message is for the Macedonian government. It is neither a threat, nor a promise. Russian diplomats, on behalf of Putin, are letting Gruevski know that if the “Turkish Stream” project is implemented via Greece, Macedonia and all the way to Hungary, Macedonia would have to let Russia protect its hundreds of billions of euros worth project. In such case, Russia will not allow for the latest Russian energy penetration success to depend on anyone – on political entities in Macedonia, announcements on unification of Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia, the American Embassy in Skopje or the State Department in Washington, Bulgaria or any other factor.

Thus, it is understandable that Greece and Serbia, as active partners of Russia in the project that will mark the decade, are not considered to be problematic, and these messages refer to them at the same time. Putin can simply not allow for the pipeline that will bring gas to Europe – and pump back cash back in the Russian budget – to be unstable. Macedonian authorities have to know that this is a basic rule on the big energy games. Just like some ten years ago a route for the American oil pipeline AMBO that will surpass the “unstable” regions in north-west Macedonia and the Presevo Valley was being looked for, the current route – wherever it passes by – has to be properly secured. Therefore, if the project becomes reality, they have a string of mechanisms to use in securing the pipeline. The Russian crisis management center in Nis, Serbia, where only Russian rescue teams and fire extinguishing aircrafts are located for the time being, are just a part of the operational, diplomatic, financial and military/security resources Moscow has at its disposal.

The last message Russia has sent to the Macedonian and the international public following the Gosince border watchtower incident, is also a message to the Albanian radicals in the country and the region. ONA, ANA, UCK, UCPMB and other military formations which emerge in the name of the so-called Albanian interests in the region, should be aware that if they pose any threat to the project, they would have to deal with Putin. Naturally, it is not possible to predict that in case Albanian militants try to endanger the pipeline, they would have to face Russian army forces, but the message here is completely different. Unlike 2001, when Russia remained uninvolved, while Ukraine was arming the Macedonian Army, it will now be Moscow that will do anything in its power to help Macedonia clean up the possible UCK descendants.

Moscow’s messages reach to Washington, as well. Although both major powers keep exchanging similar messages at a dozen of other locations worldwide – from Syria to Cyprus, for us it is interesting what is Russia is trying to tell the USA regarding Macedonia. In a lack of information on Russia’s plans for the region, it can only be assumed that Macedonia, which is not NATO member state, is free to be “conquered” both financially and politically. Although Macedonia – unlike Serbia – is not a neutral country, but a part of the western coalition besides the lack of formal membership, Russia considers our country open, primarily for projects that bring cash.

In a lack of any movement regarding Macedonia’s accession to NATO, Russia believes their is no obstacle to bring Macedonia into its strategic projects. Those projections probably take into consideration information that the Russian carried out public opinion polls, which results are different than those we knew thus far. Poor information on the poll in which Macedonian citizens were asked about their opinion regarding the USA, EU and Russia, show that polls in which over 90% are in favor of NATO accession are long gone.

Unless this is just another twist of the world powers to cause unrest among Macedonian citizens, then Macedonian authorities, as well as Washington, should ask themselves what has gone wrong, although everyone can already assume it. Anyways, after Germany stated it is also in favor of construction of “Turkish Stream” (specifically regarding Greece’s involvement in the project), it will be interesting to hear Washington’s response to Russia’s efforts of energy victory of the Budapest-Belgrade-Skopje-Athens corridor.

Defending its interests in Macedonia, the USA can refer to their permanent efforts to help the country as of its independence, they can refer to the half-dead agreement for strategic partnership signed after 2008 NATO’s summit, they can play the card of granting one billion euros via which USAID and other governmental institutions entered in Macedonia on behalf of assistance in reforms implementation. Of course, just like the USA, Russia also has a specter of measures at its disposal, but the fact remains that the Skopje-Washington-Moscow has neither formal obligations, nor bans to cooperate with other partner(s).

In the era when the American and the Russian government had excellent relations, there would have probably been no fear of approximation to any of these. But, in times when the USA sends military instructors to Ukraine, while Russia sends bombers to the Gulf of Mexico, and Kosovo radicals are conquering Macedonian border watchtowers, it is evident that Skopje’s government would have to play the most difficult high-stakes diplomatic game, and the risk can only be compared to the period prior to the withdrawal of the Yugoslav National Army from Macedonia. //Goran Momirovski

[Philosopher]

What is the Kremlin Trying to Tell us?
Wednesday, 20 May 2015



The second press release Kremlin has issued in the past three months which refers directly to Macedonia, speaks volumes of how Russia feels about Macedonia lately. The messages Putin's administration keeps sending us via press releases are a pig in a poke. The country which almost an year ago announced to Serbia - its strongest ally on the Balkans - it will cut gas deliveries due to unpaid debt of some hundred million of euros (ridiculous sum of money for Russia), and then included it in the "Turkish Stream", is now becoming directly involved in the case of Macedonia for the first time. It is sending it messages.

The first message is for the Macedonian government. It is neither a threat, nor a promise. Russian diplomats, on behalf of Putin, are letting Gruevski know that if the “Turkish Stream” project is implemented via Greece, Macedonia and all the way to Hungary, Macedonia would have to let Russia protect its hundreds of billions of euros worth project. In such case, Russia will not allow for the latest Russian energy penetration success to depend on anyone – on political entities in Macedonia, announcements on unification of Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia, the American Embassy in Skopje or the State Department in Washington, Bulgaria or any other factor.

Thus, it is understandable that Greece and Serbia, as active partners of Russia in the project that will mark the decade, are not considered to be problematic, and these messages refer to them at the same time. Putin can simply not allow for the pipeline that will bring gas to Europe – and pump back cash back in the Russian budget – to be unstable. Macedonian authorities have to know that this is a basic rule on the big energy games. Just like some ten years ago a route for the American oil pipeline AMBO that will surpass the “unstable” regions in north-west Macedonia and the Presevo Valley was being looked for, the current route – wherever it passes by – has to be properly secured. Therefore, if the project becomes reality, they have a string of mechanisms to use in securing the pipeline. The Russian crisis management center in Nis, Serbia, where only Russian rescue teams and fire extinguishing aircrafts are located for the time being, are just a part of the operational, diplomatic, financial and military/security resources Moscow has at its disposal.

The last message Russia has sent to the Macedonian and the international public following the Gosince border watchtower incident, is also a message to the Albanian radicals in the country and the region. ONA, ANA, UCK, UCPMB and other military formations which emerge in the name of the so-called Albanian interests in the region, should be aware that if they pose any threat to the project, they would have to deal with Putin. Naturally, it is not possible to predict that in case Albanian militants try to endanger the pipeline, they would have to face Russian army forces, but the message here is completely different. Unlike 2001, when Russia remained uninvolved, while Ukraine was arming the Macedonian Army, it will now be Moscow that will do anything in its power to help Macedonia clean up the possible UCK descendants.

Moscow’s messages reach to Washington, as well. Although both major powers keep exchanging similar messages at a dozen of other locations worldwide – from Syria to Cyprus, for us it is interesting what is Russia is trying to tell the USA regarding Macedonia. In a lack of information on Russia’s plans for the region, it can only be assumed that Macedonia, which is not NATO member state, is free to be “conquered” both financially and politically. Although Macedonia – unlike Serbia – is not a neutral country, but a part of the western coalition besides the lack of formal membership, Russia considers our country open, primarily for projects that bring cash.

In a lack of any movement regarding Macedonia’s accession to NATO, Russia believes their is no obstacle to bring Macedonia into its strategic projects. Those projections probably take into consideration information that the Russian carried out public opinion polls, which results are different than those we knew thus far. Poor information on the poll in which Macedonian citizens were asked about their opinion regarding the USA, EU and Russia, show that polls in which over 90% are in favor of NATO accession are long gone.

Unless this is just another twist of the world powers to cause unrest among Macedonian citizens, then Macedonian authorities, as well as Washington, should ask themselves what has gone wrong, although everyone can already assume it. Anyways, after Germany stated it is also in favor of construction of “Turkish Stream” (specifically regarding Greece’s involvement in the project), it will be interesting to hear Washington’s response to Russia’s efforts of energy victory of the Budapest-Belgrade-Skopje-Athens corridor.

Defending its interests in Macedonia, the USA can refer to their permanent efforts to help the country as of its independence, they can refer to the half-dead agreement for strategic partnership signed after 2008 NATO’s summit, they can play the card of granting one billion euros via which USAID and other governmental institutions entered in Macedonia on behalf of assistance in reforms implementation. Of course, just like the USA, Russia also has a specter of measures at its disposal, but the fact remains that the Skopje-Washington-Moscow has neither formal obligations, nor bans to cooperate with other partner(s).

In the era when the American and the Russian government had excellent relations, there would have probably been no fear of approximation to any of these. But, in times when the USA sends military instructors to Ukraine, while Russia sends bombers to the Gulf of Mexico, and Kosovo radicals are conquering Macedonian border watchtowers, it is evident that Skopje’s government would have to play the most difficult high-stakes diplomatic game, and the risk can only be compared to the period prior to the withdrawal of the Yugoslav National Army from Macedonia. //Goran Momirovski

Never trust Russia. Or the United States of America.

[ramo]

Interview with gruevski. He confirms which direction should Macedonia be going.This is direct negation of these spam topic and posts that iceman is posting. The new course of the vmro propaganda dogs will probably be opposite from what they have told so far.

http://press24.mk/nikola-gruevski-idninata-na-makedonija-e-vo-nato-i-eu

Press24: Во последно време се јави сомнеж за европската и евроатлантската интеграција на Македонија.

Не е точно дека не сум се изјаснил. Напротив. Тоа го сторив и на митингот на ВМРО-ДПМНЕ неодамна кога пред 100 илјади граѓани и стотици медиумски претставници од Македонија и светот, многу јасно кажав дека иднината на Македонија е во НАТО и ЕУ. Патем речено тоа го имаме демонстрирано и преку бројните наши учества во НАТО и ЕУ мисиите, како што се мисиите во Авганистан, Ирак, БиХ итн. Значи,ниту јас ниту владата немаме дилеми по ова прашање.

Press24: Од каде тогаш руски знамиња и маици со Путин на вашиот митинг?

Груевски: Станува збор за работи што ги направиле некои индивидуалци. Ги видов сликите и од она што го забележав станува збор за неколку, можеби 2-3 такви случаи. Но ставот на партијата, и стратешката ориентација на државата не се рефлектира преку тоа каква маица ќе облече некој од 100те илјади граѓани дојдени на митинг, туку преку пораките кои јавно, јасно и недвосмислено ги испраќа од тој настан претседателот на таа партија преку јавен настап и говор.

Press24: Дали вие сметате дека САД, или Германија, Франција или Британија стојат за кумановските настани?

Груевски: За да сметам такво нешто треба да имаме елементарни докази или барем индиции. Ние такво нешто немаме. Досега немаме податок дека некоја држава, или нејзина разузнавачка служба, вклучувајќи ги и гореспоменатите, дала логистика или на било кој начин ја поттикнало криминално терористичката група да го стори делото.

А впрочем и не гледам зошто токму држави кои толку многу инвестирале досега во стабилноста и развојот на Македонија би помислиле да ја дестабилизираат истата.

Press24: Се шпекулира дека и зад снимените телефонски разговори стои завера од некои од овие сили? Кој е вашиот став за ова?

Груевски: Во денешно време на огромен технолошки напредок на најголемите суперсили во светот во разузнавачко безбедносната и телекомуникациска сфера, меѓу кои ги вбројувам и овие 4 земји, мислам дека не им е потребнa осомничената агентурна мрежа во Македонија, доколку одлучат да дојдат до таков вид материјали. Оттука, нема логика тие да стојат како организатори на овој процес. Не е добро со леснотија и без докази да се шпекулира и да се набедуваат наши сојузници. Јас не се согласувам со тоа.

Press24: Во овој корпус на прашања неизбежно е и прашањето за гасоводот турски тек. Која е позицијата на Македонија за овој проект?

Груевски: Нашиот став по овој проект е дека кога Брисел и Москва ќе постигнат договор за овој проект, ние би се вклучиле во него. Ние сме земја која е насочена кон евроатланската заедница, и при носење на одлуки од стратешко значење се водиме од оваа цел.

[Risto the Great]

Нашиот став по овој проект е дека кога Брисел и Москва ќе постигнат договор за овој проект, ние би се вклучиле во него. Ние сме земја која е насочена кон евроатланската заедница, и при носење на одлуки од стратешко значење се водиме од оваа цел.

"We will do whatever the EU tells us basically."
So perhaps he is tickling Putin's balls in order to get the EU to notice Macedonia.

[George S.]

Yes Pickling his balls in russian vodka or macedonian rakija and dancing like a kosack in the middle of skopje.Amazing when you are small and insignificant amogst your neighbours.They got you by the balls they say jump you say how high.

[George S.]

Mixed Feelings In Macedonia As A Russian Orthodox Church Rises

Mixed Feelings In Macedonia As A Russian Orthodox Church Rises

http://www.rferl.org/content/macedonia-russian-orthodox-church-skopje/27093507.html

KOPJE -- When Macedonia's senior cleric blessed the construction site for a Russian Orthodox church last year, he said it would be "a piece of the Russian soul" in the Balkan state.

But some Macedonians fear the church may also be a chunk of Russian muscle in their tiny country.

At the groundbreaking ceremony in the Skopje municipality of Aerodrom in June 2014, the man who turned the first sod was Sergei Samsonenko, a rich Russian businessman who owns Macedonian handball and soccer teams.

The Holy Trinity church will "closely link the two nations, since there is a huge spiritual closeness," Samsonenko said, according to local media. The ceremony was also attended by the Russian ambassador.

Archbishop Stefan, the head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, blessed the site where the Holy Trinity building is to be completed this year.

While the nation of 2 million already has about 2,000 churches, Stefan said that "today's act of setting the foundations of a Russian church is [an] extremely important [one] that will contribute to the rapprochement of Russia and the Macedonian people and represents a bridge for further rapprochement."

Others suspect Russia may have more in mind than rapprochement.

In conversations with RFE/RL in Skopje, officials expressed concern that Russia may try to use the Orthodox Church to advance its interests in Macedonia.

One official said Russia -- which Kremlin critics have long accused of using its natural gas and oil riches as levers of influence in Europe -- may see putting up churches as a means of increasing its foothold in foreign countries without causing alarm or vocal opposition.

"Building churches is seen as a good thing. How can anyone argue with that?" the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Widening Influence

It's a concern echoed in other European countries where new Russian churches have been built or planned.

"For the past two decades, Russia has been trying to get all these Orthodox parishes that split from the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow after the Russian Revolution back under the jurisdiction of Moscow," said Irina Papkova, a scholar specializing in Russian politics and religion at Georgetown University in Washington.

"But in the case of some European parishes this hasn't worked out. So Moscow said, 'Fine, you do as you like, but we'll build churches throughout Europe that belong to the jurisdiction of Moscow,'" said Papkova, author of the book The Orthodox Church and Russian Politics.

After the militantly atheist Bolsheviks took power in the 1917 revolution, many Russian Orthodox churches around Europe transferred their allegiance from the Patriarchate of Moscow to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which is "first among equals" in the Orthodox Christian world but has a smaller flock than the Moscow Patriarchate and is often seen as its rival.

Soviet security agencies went on to kill thousands of priests while enlisting thousands of others as informants. The Russian Orthodox Church has enjoyed a huge revival since the 1991 Soviet breakup, but to some its reputation is tainted by allegations that many clerics, including its current leader Patriarch Kirill and his predecessor Aleksy II, were KGB informants.

Skopje's Holy Trinity, due to be completed this year, is one of several churches abroad that have been initiated under Aleksy or Kirill, who was elected in 2009 after his predecessor's death and has vocally supported President Vladimir Putin.

Prominent members of the Orthodox clergy preside over the laying of the cornerstone for the Holy Trinity church.
Prominent members of the Orthodox clergy preside over the laying of the cornerstone for the Holy Trinity church.


The construction of a two-year-old Russian Orthodox Church in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, was financed by sources linked to Vladimir Yakunin, a Putin ally who heads state railroad company Russian Railways.

Estonian intelligence agencies allege that some of the money meant for construction of the church was channeled to pro-Moscow politician Edgar Savisaar's party, which mostly represents ethnic Russians.

In Paris, a Russian Orthodox cathedral nearing completion has been financed by the Russian government, and in Strasbourg, a Russian Orthodox church is going up next to the European Parliament.

In a November visit to Serbia, which is trying to balance a European Union membership bid with its traditional ties to Russia, Patriarch Kirill accused Europe of abandoning Christian values. His trip to Belgrade came a few weeks after Putin, deeply at odds with the EU over the conflict in Ukraine, was welcomed there with a military parade.

"The Russian Orthodox Church supports many of the same goals as the Russian government, both at home and abroad, for example the concept of a Russian world as a counterbalance to the Western world," said Thomas Bremer, a professor of ecumenical studies and Eastern churches at the University of Muenster, Germany, and the author of the recent book Cross and Kremlin. "And wealthy Russians try to gain influence in many places, so it's no surprise that they should help finance church construction."

Samsonenko owns the Macedonian handball team Vardar and last year purchased a soccer club, FK Vardar, which had been run by the city of Skopje.

Kremlin-Kirill Alliance

The Macedonian Orthodox Church, a breakaway denomination that also has dioceses elsewhere in Europe as well as in North America and Australia, reports to neither Moscow nor Constantinople.

But Bremer said there's a reason that it is embracing the novel Russian presence in Macedonia.

"Macedonia has a troubled relationship with Greece, so at the church level it makes sense to establish closer relations with Russia," he said.

For the Kremlin, at a time when relations with the West are tense and Russia finds itself in need of friends abroad, Kirill has become an important ally.

"In some ways, the Russian Orthodox Church and the Kremlin work closely together, but only when their interests coincide," said Papkova. "That's the case in Serbia. And a lot of Russian politicians position themselves as Orthodox and use the language of the church, but it's not clear that they're acting in the interest of the church."

In Paris, the five-domed Russian Orthodox cathedral complex rising near the Eiffel Tower, which is to open next year, will include a primary school and a cultural center.

It may project a sense of a Russian presence, but it is not clear how many people will attend its services -- Paris already has a Russian Orthodox cathedral, one not under the jurisdiction of Moscow.

The external relations department of the Moscow Patriarchate did not respond to a request for comment for this article. Neither did the Macedonian Orthodox Church.

[makedonche]

What a clever idea, guise the fsb in a church to counter the cia!!

[Big Bad Sven]

In a crazy world like today i dont mind orthodox unity or some sort of alliance, especially when this corner of the balkans is being destroyed by fanatical islam and western/american greed and corporations.

But do Russians really value macedonian people and culture? Do they even value the Macedonian Orthodox Church?

The ROC keeps skirting around the issue of the status of the MOC, but the reality is the SOC, BOC, AOC and GOC dont recognize the MOC which has made the orthodox family and unity dysfunctional, and at worst says that the Russians dont even care about macedonians.

In the end i think macedonians will still gravitate towards 'mother russia' because radical islam and western arrogance/ignorance will push them that way.

[George S.]

Thev russians don't give a shit for macedonia.WE dont count its as simple as that.Why do we need recognition what its an inferiority complex/No one recognizes us to do so would diminish their self esteem.

[Niko777]

FYI - this article is BS.

This is not a Russian Orthodox Church. It's a Macedonian Orthodox Church.

The design of the physical church building is in the style found in Russia and the construction is being funded by a Russian businessman in Macedonia.

[Soldier of Macedon]

https://sputniknews.com/politics/201702131050642500-moscow-slams-idea-division-macedonia/

Moscow Slams Media Attempt to Attribute Idea of Division of Macedonia to Lavrov

13.02.2017

Western media attempt to attribute the idea of division of Macedonia between the neighboring countries to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is a "pure provocation," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On February 9, the Macedonian edition of Germany's Deutsche Welle published an article about an idea of US congressman Dana Rohrabacher to divide Macedonia between the neighboring states. The article added, referring to Austrian newspaper Der Standard, that the similar proposal was voiced by Lavrov in 2015. "We noted an outrageous in its content article in the Macedonian edition of Deutsche Welle, attempting to ascribe to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov the idea of division of the Republic of Macedonia… Lavrov has never done such statements, on the contrary, he strongly condemned such kind of speculations," the statement said.

The ministry noted that the "provocative" article was issued in order to "undermine the Russia's image in the Balkan region and to inflame the situation in Macedonia." The political crisis in Macedonia began in 2015 as the opposition accused the ruling conservatives of intercepting telephone conversations of some 20,000 people, including police officers, judges, journalists and diplomats. It resulted in the agreement reached last year between the most influential parties in Macedonia, under which then Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski had to resign and the parliament was dissolved.