Macedonia

In a move to boost economic links between Bulgaria and Macedonia, Bulgaria's economy ministry has decided to re-launch the activities of its commerial and economy service in Skopje, which was closed in December 2015, its press office told BIRN in a statement.

A procedure to appoint Bulgarian representatives to be sent to the Macedonian capital has been launched, the ministry added.

Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Tuesday called on the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to stop pursuing irredentist claims that "undermine its European course."

PHOTO: TANJUG / MINISTARSTVO SPOLJNIH POSLOVA

Serbia's decision to withdraw its embassy staff from Macedonia is in fact "a message to Skopje."

The message is that Serbia "knows what they laid their heads together for, and what they agreed on," First Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Tuesday.

Zoran Zaev - Photo: Tanjug / Nemanja Jovanovic

The Macedonian government says it will take into account the position of "the majority of EU countries" when it comes to voting on Pristina's UNESCO bid.

Beta is reporting this, citing FUROM's (Macedonia's) TV Telma.

Photo: MFA

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Monday that his country "could change its position regarding the name of Macedonia."

Dacic said this after Skopje's announcements that it would "change its position on being neutral" during a future vote on Kosovo's membership in UNESCO, Tanjug reported.

Greek diplomats were monitoring developments in the Balkans with concern on Monday after Serbia withdrew the entire staff of its embassy in Skopje after accusing the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) of "offensive activity" in apparent anger at its neighbor's improving relations with Kosovo, a former Serbian province.

The Macedonian government says it will take into account the position of "the majority of EU countries" when it comes to voting on Pristina's UNESCO bid.

Beta is reporting this, citing Macedonia's TV Telma.

Aleksandar Vucic, Serbian President, on Monday said the whole staff of the Serbian embassy was withdrawn from Macedonia after Belgrade obtained "evidence of very offensive intelligence against the institutions of Serbia".

Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic gave a similar statement to the news agency Tanjug, also citing "offensive actions against the Republic of Serbia."

Media reports and (FYROM) Macedonian officials say the entire staff of the Serbian Embassy in Macedonia's capital, Skopje, has been withdrawn for urgent consultations in Belgrade.

The National Meteorological Services (EMY) issued a weather bulletin warning of a sudden turn with storms, strong winds and possible hails for Tuesday starting in northern parts of the country.