Tadic apologises to Macedonian people

SKOPJE - New Democratic Party leader and former Serbian president Boris Tadic has said that he feels guilty for failing to apologise to the people of Macedonia while in office as president for the presence of the Serbian gendarmerie in the country in the past.

"It was not a great experience for the Macedonian people. For that very reason, as a former president, I would like to extend my apology and amend the mistake I made then," Tadic told the Skopje-based TV Sitel.

Tadic said that he is confident that this can bring the two nations closer together and particularly urged a solution for the relations between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the canonically unrecognised Macedonian Orthodox Church.

Tadic, who was in Skopje to attend the closing of the Ohrid Summer Festival - which also featured Belgrade's Zvezdara Theatre - said that, as president of Serbia, he visited Macedonia many times and advocated a resolution of issues from the past.

This is important because the ties connecting Serbia and Macedonia are not merely historical, and there is no aspect where they are not strong, Tadic added.

Photo Tanjug, N. Jovanovic (archive)