North Macedonian

TIRANA - Tirana is hosting the first Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit, to also be attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Albanian PM Edi Rama and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine and its consequences.

There is still no agreement on the text of a declaration to be adopted at the end of the summit, Tanjug learns.

BELGRADE - Ahead of Monday's meeting of Brdo-Brijuni Process leaders in Skopje, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said Serbia, as always, remained consistent in its sincere advocacy of creating an atmosphere of mutual trust, understanding and respect.

VRANJE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic welcomed North Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski at Prohor Pcinjski near Vranje, southern Serbia, on Wednesday.

The two presidents will first visit the monastery of St Prohor Pcinjski - where they will lay a wreath - and then hold a meeting.

North Macedonia's government has ordered heightened security on February 4, when the country celebrates 151 years since the birth of its biggest hero, the Ottoman-era revolutionary Goce Delcev.

Ljubljana – Slovenia is receiving congratulations from many world leaders on Statehood Day, with President Borut Pahor having received messages from Queen Elizabeth II, US President Joe Biden, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and French President Emmanuel Macron, among others.

North Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski has personally joined the campaign against Bulgaria after the opening of the Ivan Mihailov Cultural Center in Bitola, BGNES reported.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said yesterday during a visit to North Macedonia that he was ready to assist it in starting EU membership talks, the Polish newspaper Gazeta Pravna reported.

"We do not need any mediators. No one knows our history better than we do," Bulgarian President Rumen Radev told journalists on Thursday during his Rome visit with North Macedonian President Stevo Pendaovski with whom he said he had an in-depth conversation.

Ilhan Kyuchyuk, the European Parliament's standing rapporteur for North Macedonia, is on an official visit to Skopje. He has already met with North Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski, PM Zoran Zaev, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bujar Osmani, Vice-PM Nikola Dimitrov, Minister of Local Self-Government Goran Milevski and opposition party leader Hristijan Mickoski.

North Macedonia's president on Wednesday said the country wouldn't compromise its identity and accommodate a demand from Bulgaria that has held up talks to join the European Union.

EU-member Bulgaria has blocked accession talks with North Macedonia and wants its neighbor to formally acknowledge that its language has Bulgarian roots.