Macedonia, Albania initiate bilateral free imports of agricultural goods

Macedonia and Albania will import agricultural products from one another without duty, Macedonian Utrinski Vesnik reported. Protocol for liberalization in agriculture is expected to be ratified soon. The protocol is within the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and should enter into force on July 1 this year. Macedonian Economy Minister Fatmir Besimi yesterday met with his Albanian counterpart Drita Prifti. They have agreed to speed up the procedure for ratifying the Protocol.

Terror in Albania over classes in Macedonian

Parents of 200 children, who take classes in Macedonian language in Golo Brdo, Albania, are put under everyday terror and threats, while the situation in Gora is even worse, Macedonian Dnevnik daily writes.
According to Edmond Osmani from Golo Brdo, the classes have not started because of the strong pressure from the institutions in Albania. The newspaper also notes that children are studying Macedonian thanks to a non-government organization.
“We want for the Macedonian Foreign Ministry to take actions. It is unacceptable for a country in Europe, which declares itself democratic, to violate the human rights”, Osmani says.
Dnevnik writes further that the classes in Gora have not even started because of the pressure exerted by the state institutions.

Relations between Macedonia and Albania are good, foreign ministers of both countries say

Relations between Macedonia and Albania are good, but work on deepening economic relations is needed. This was the assessment of the meeting of foreign ministers of Macedonia and Albania - Antonio Milososki and Ilir Meta in Tirana yesterday, Macedonian newspaper Vecer announced.
"Accepting the European principles of dialogue, mutual understanding and friendship Macedonia and Albania help the region's European future", Milososki said. Head of the Albanian diplomacy Meta stated that his country supports Macedonia's NATO membership and expressed confidence that all the obstacles will soon be removed and the country will join the Alliance.

Albania Silent over Scandal with Macedonian Language

While Albanian kids in Macedonia study all of their subjects in Albanian (and refuse to learn Macedonian), Macedonian kids in Albania aren't allowed to study their native Macedonian language.

Sali Berisha, Albania's PM publiclyhas stated he would make sure Macedonian kids study their native language, but so far no Albanian institution answered our questions why the Ministry of Education ordered teachers to stop teaching the Macedonian language.

The only exception came from OSCE and the Council of Europe in Tirana, who said they would investigage why was Macedonian banned in Golo Brdo. Albanian media, in general has ignored the case.

- The situation is quite different when it comes to 'problems' of Albanians in Macedonia. Media in Tirana do not even consider printing our press releases, let alone anything else - says Vasil Sterjovski, member of NGO "Ilinden", which holds free courses in Macedonian language for about 200 kids in Golo Brdo.

Council members of Trebište and Golo Brdo came to document send by the regional director of the Ministry of Education, in hich she requires local authorities to take measures against those who hold courses in the Macedonian language.

This document was sent by the editorial board of "Nova Makedonija" to the Ministry of Education of Albania, Ministry of European Integration whose spokeswoman Majlinda Bregu is also the spokesperson of the Government, and the Embassy of Albania in Skopje.

All of the above institutions failed to respond, although Macedonian journalists were informed they will receive a response. No response from the author of the scandalous letter, Miranda Kurti.

However, some reaction is expected from the OSCE office in Tirana. Greece's Joanna Karapataki, press officer of the OSCE in Tirana, sought to review the disputed document.

The Macedonian Foreign Ministry is following the situation.

- No comment so far. We will see how the situation will develop, then will decide how to act - says Peter Chulev, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry.

Macedonians in Albania believe that the Albanian government wants to ban the Macedonian language in Golo Brdo and to the north in Gora, because of pressures from the European Union that Albania puts a graph on the 2011 census for ethnic minorities.

Albanian diplomat arrested in Turkey on suspicion of drug trafficking

Turkish police had arrested Agim Haxhia, deputy secretary of the Albanian Embassy in Skopje, Macedonia, in western Turkey on May 2, AP quoted the Albanian Foreign Ministry statement as saying in a statement.

Haxhia, being held in a prison near Istanbul, has been stripped of his immunity and will face prosecution in Turkey, the agency added.

He was arrested after police found 65 kilograms of heroin in his car, which carried diplomatic plates, AFP reported, citing Albanian television station Top Channel.

Until three years ago, Haxhia had worked as a journalist, the station reported.

Haxhia entered Turkey via neighboring Macedonia and Bulgaria without being stopped by customs or police officials in either country, Albanian police sources told AFP.

Albania Can Learn From Macedonia's "Bravado" Towards Greece

In this corner of southeastern Europe, the letter that Macedonia's Prime Minister Gruevski addressed to his Greek counterpart Karamanlis a few days ago, came for many as a bolt from the blue, especially considering Macedonia's problems over its name with Greece which, by its veto, has excluded it from NATO membership and threatened to do the same with Macedonia's EU membership unless an agreement is reached over this problem on Athens' conditions.?

However, there is logic to Gruevski's apparent bravado? Following Macedonia's early election which returned Gruevski in triumph to the head of the government with a solid majority, which was mainly due to a populist and nationalist electoral platform, he needed this tactical move for two reasons:? He needs both to give further guarantees to his Macedonian Slav electorate that brought him back to power and to test the international waters to see the extent of backing that he can claim from the US Big Brother [two preceding words in English], who has been the constant and consistent supporter of the tiny Balkan state.

Couched in half-threatening terms, his letter to Karamanlis was intended to defend, as he says, the interests of the ethnic Macedonian minority in Greece, calling for the opening of Macedonian- language schools for emigrants from this country in Greece and the recognition of dual citizenship for a minority which the Greek state does not recognize.

At the same time Macedonia's President Crvenkovski was having a one-on-one meeting with Albania's President Topi.? This was no mere coincidence if one reads the press release issued thereafter, in which Albania again voices its readiness to put the facilities of the port of Durres at Macedonia's disposal, a measure that insures Macedonia against any eventual economic blockade on the part of Greece, which closed the port of Thessaloniki to Macedonia a few years ago.

Despite the strained relations between Macedonia's prime minister and president, which, only a few days ago, led to the latter's declaring that he would not run again for president precisely because of these differences, there is an admirable solidarity between them when it is a question of major national interests or the coordination of their state's moves with regard to a third party.

This should serve as a lesson for the Albanian Government which, in its official pronouncements, at best, deals with Albanians' property in Greece, or the rights of the ethnic Albanian minority there, as technical problems, if it does not ignore these problems altogether, which it does for the sake of certain petty personal interests of the moment.?

The same childish behaviour is seen in its relations with the Macedonians, who, only a little time ago, well nigh closed the door in our face by imposing high visa tariffs for Albanians going to Macedonia, although they knew that they would be the losers in this absurd move.

Reverting to Gruevski's letter and the response to it, the immediate answer from Greece's Prime Minister Karamanlis is worth mentioning? Not only did he reject the allegations of the Macedonian side as unsubstantiated but, moreover, he accused his Macedonian counterpart of letting himself be carried away by his emotions, which would be fatal for Macedonia's course toward NATO and the European Union, while at the same time referring to the European Court of Justice and the Strasbourg Tribunal of Human Rights as institutions of arbitration that the Macedonian side might resort to over its juridical claims.

The fallout from this tactical move of Gruevski's, the benefits that may or may not, accrue from it as compared to their cost, would require an extensive and substantial analysis, as would Greece's official reply, which expresses a certain political and diplomatic stance.

Albanian diplomacy should carefully study these moves which, if taken into consideration, may ensure that Albania plays an important role in this area of the Balkans, a role which would be incompatible with the petty interests of its political parties.

National interests are expressed through tactical moves in bilateral and multilateral relations, with every tactical move being made as a function of strategies that are worked out following preliminary consultations with experts, so as not to be taken unawares by international contingencies.

Three Albanian citizens disappear in Macedonia

Three Albanian citizens went missing today on the Macedonian territory, more precisely in the locality of Radice, while traveling from Gostivar towards the Albanian border, Albanian TV station Top Channel reported.

According to the same source, the three Albanians - brothers Lavderim and Vilson Alaraj, and Flamur Korovaku, all from the Albanian border village of Topojani, lost contact with their families on their way to the Albanian border.

The TV station said that the Albanian police also had information about their disappearance, but had no details on the source of the information or whether the three Albanians planned to cross the border illegally.

After Kosovo: Next Stop Greater Albania?

TETOVO, Macedonia -- Walk down any street in this Macedonian town and you would be forgiven for thinking that an international border has accidentally been crossed.

Stores have Albanian names, cafes have a distinctly Albanian flavor, and the red Albanian flag bearing a black double-headed eagle flutters on the streets.

Albanians form an overwhelming majority in an arc of northwestern Macedonia bordering predominantly Albanian Kosovo, which proclaimed its independence from Serbia this week. The same is true of slices of southern Serbia and Montenegro.

After Kosovo's leap toward self-determination, is the next step a Greater Albania to pool together the region's ethnic Albanians in a unified state?

Don't count on it.

The notion has been frequently floated in recent years, and there are some nationalist ethnic Albanians who advocate unification.

But there appears to be little overall public enthusiasm for it _ not in Albania itself, not in newly independent Kosovo, and not in Albanian-dominated areas of neighboring countries.

Part of the resistance lies in the markedly different experiences of Albanians in recent history.

Ethnic Albanians have not lived in a unified country since the Ottoman Empire's grip over the Balkans ended in the years before World War I.

In the intervening decades, they lived under dramatically different regimes. Enver Hoxha's brutal four-decade isolationist rule of Albania _ and that of his successor Ramiz Alia _ left his countrymen cut off from the outside world until the 1990s.

Life in Marshal Tito's Yugoslavia was more sophisticated, despite the restrictions of the communist regime.

So when Albania opened its international borders for the first time in 1991, Kosovars found they had little in common with their brethren to the southwest.

But Kosovars have also likely calculated that the move would be bad for their future as well.

It was tricky enough for the province to declare independence over the vehement objections of Serbia and Russia. Calling for a pan-Albanian state would likely provoke an even stronger response, not only from Serbia but from other Balkan neighbors.

The United States and EU heavyweights France, Germany and Britain would also probably oppose any abrupt move toward Albanian unification. And Kosovars know that their new _ and barely financially viable _ country depends on the goodwill of these Western states.

Kosovo may also find that being a sovereign country is preferable to becoming a province of a larger state once more.

Sabit Bunjaku, an economist in the Kosovo capital of Pristina, used to support the idea of a Greater Albania, but now thinks it should be laid to rest. "Our demands are being fulfilled, so why ask for more?" he said.

Despite the apparent apathy for the idea of Albanian unification, concerns do persist, particularly in Macedonia, where ethnic Albanian rebels took up arms against government forces in 2001, launching a six-month conflict.

"The biggest fear for me, as a Macedonian, is that Kosovo's independence will bring only partition for Macedonia," said Marina Stevcevska, an economist in the capital, Skopje.

For its part, impoverished Albania has set its sights firmly on eventually joining the European Union and NATO _ with all the financial benefits that could bring _ and most politicians seem unwilling to jeopardize those goals.

In the end, Albanians might indeed find a unity of sorts _ under the umbrella of an expanded European Union.

Theodore Couloumbis, professor of international relations at the University of Athens, said that he sees two options for the Balkans.

They could go the route of seeking "to redefine the map, to regain or to gain territories," Couloumbis said.

The other path, he said, "and the one I hope that most people in the Balkans are opting for, is the European option."

Albanian citizens buy food in Macedonia's green markets

Food price hikes in Albania forced its citizens to buy food products in green markets and grocery stores in neigboting Macedonia.

Albanian media said the locals in border villages in Albania travel to Macedonia's border towns of Struga, Ohrid and Debar to buy food.

The frequency of travellers at Blato border crossing, near Debar, was tripled in the past four days. Albanian citizens claim food price in Debar are lower 10-25 percent comparing with the prices in Albania.

The number of Albanian citizens purchasing food products in Macedonia is expected to surge after the upcoming lifting of visa requirements by both countries. The citizens will travel to each of the two countries on visa-free basis.

Albanian secret service demands money for agents in Macedonia

Albanian state intelligence service SHISH demanded over 4 million euro extra funds to expand its activities in the region, including Macedonia.

Gazeta Shqiptare newspaper says the vast majority of additional agents will be sent to Kosovo, and the rest will be sent to "Albanian regions in Macedonia and Montenegro".

SHISH chief Bahri Shaqiri told the Albanian Parliament's National Security Committee that additional funds should be allocated to state intelligence service to expand its activities in 2008 and to recruit new agents outside the country.

The newspaper, citing sources who attended the session, says extra funds and new recruits will help the country stand ready for the eventualities that may arise from the tense situation in the Balkan.

A portion of funds will be used to strengthen the network of collaborators within the country and to step up the fight against terrorism, corruption and organized crime. Following the visit to Tirana by the US President George Bush, the government called on SHISH to downsize agents, the newspaper said, adding that 129 agents were laid off meanwhile.

Macedonian Special Police Eliminate Armed Albanian Group with Paramilitary, Wahhabi Ties, Seizing Massive Arsenal

At around 5am on 7 November, an ethnically-mixed elite police force in Macedonia raided the remote, Albanian-populated village of Brodec. Their target: a group of vigilantes, led by a known Wahhabi extremist and a paramilitary partner who had been mysteriously sprung from jail in Kosovo in August. It would be the single biggest success to date for beleaguered Macedonia, chronically beset by troublemaking from Kosovo-based insurgents working in alliance with local radicals.

Unlike various similar operations carried out by the previous two Macedonian governments since 2001, innocent bystanders were not caught in the crossfire and there was no large-scale property destruction. The smooth handling of the operation won the interior ministry praise from foreign officials such as Victoria Nuland, US ambassador to NATO, who stated, “we were informed on the operation. We were especially impressed by the fact that multi-ethnic police forces carried out the tasks.”

Indeed, the operation – grandiosely dubbed ‘Mountain Storm,’ after the Sar Planina Mountain range where the villages of Brodec, Vejce and Vesela are located – was very successful, with six fugitives, including the Wahhabi ringleader, Ramadan Shiti, being killed, and 13 other terrorists captured. In the dramatic gun battle that ensued, only one policeman was injured. However, one of the most wanted men – Lirim Jakupi, self-proclaimed ‘Commander Nazi’ – escaped. Criminal charges on grounds of terrorism have been submitted against all 17 members of the group, as well as the four remaining fugitives, thought to be led by Jakupi.

Although the interior ministry at first stated officially that the killed and captured men were mere ‘criminals,’ the astonishingly large variety of weapons seized – enough for waging a small war – in houses and fields near Brodec belied that assertion. So did the fact that some, such as leader Shiti, have previously been linked with the Saudi-backed Wahhabi Muslim sect’s attempts to take control of the Islamic communities in Macedonia and Kosovo. Indeed, during the operation, Ramadan Shiti reportedly died as a suicide bomber, igniting the grenade he was carrying when surrounded by police.


Ready for War

Macedonia’s Minister of Interior, Gordana Jankuloska, stated for media on 9 November that the Brodec haul was “the largest amount of [heavy] weaponry… seized thus far” in Macedonia. The arsenal included everything from sniper rifles, assault rifles, dynamite, hand grenades, mortars and thousands of bullets to artillery pieces, RPG launchers and laser-guided anti-aircraft missiles. The cache was deemed “sufficient to equip a battalion of 650 soldiers.” Indeed, black nationalist paramilitary uniforms were also found (the gang had been allegedly involved in conducting nighttime uniformed roadblocks in recent weeks in the area). The impressive haul, which also included nationalist booklets and weaponry manuals, was laid out for journalists and military attaches to inspect at police barracks in the western Skopje suburb of Gjorce Petrov on 9 November.

Other clear indications of the long-term war plans of the militant group became apparent when television crews showed the professional-standard bunkers dug into the mountainside above the village, stocked with sleeping bags, large bags of onions and potatoes, and other rations. The structures even included improvised shower cabins and beds. Both cars and horses had been used to bring in supplies from the nearby mountain border with Kosovo, as well as from Tetovo and other places. According to retired Army Col. Blagoja Markovski, now with the Balkan Security Forum, “the [terrorists] came in this region two or three months ago… with a plan, and were preparing for military actions.”

Countdown

The operation followed several weeks of tracking the fugitives, who were moving “throughout the tri-border area” between Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia, aided by a large network of safe houses, stated one ranking military intelligence officer for Balkanalysis.com. However, the authorities also had their own network of local informers. “We contributed information from our side to the police, as did the Serbian government and KFOR [in Kosovo].” Finally, the special police unit, composed of officers of both Macedonian and Albanian ethnicities, pounced on Brodec in the early hours, sealing off the village and setting up checkpoints on access roads. The plans were finalized after the green light was given by US Ambassador Gillian Milovanovic and EU Special Representative Erwan Fouere, joked the officer- “our real ‘president’ and ‘prime minister.’”

Action

According to published accounts quoting police participants, the militants began firing first, forcing the police to shoot back. The battle took place in and around several houses in the village, as well as the Brodec mosque, which was being used as an arsenal by the gang. When the shooters were killed, police were able to scour the adjoining territory, discovering more arms caches and the bunkers, set in strategic places on the mountainside, with commanding views of the village and Tetovo beneath. Individuals killed in the operation included Hisni Ameti, also known as ‘Commander Cevaj,’ and Imer Gavazi (42), both from Kosovo; Bekim Memeti (21) from Tetovo; Ferat Sahini (20) and Fidan Fejzulahu (24), both from Brodec; and Ramadan Shiti (24), from Kosovo.

Shiti had already escaped twice from prison, once in Macedonia and once in Kosovo, and was wanted as an accomplice in the murder of a Skopje taxi driver and for participating in a bomb attack on the Bit Pazar police station in Skopje in July 2005.

However, while Shiti may be dead, according to Macedonian intelligence sources surveyed by Balkanalysis.com, some of his major accomplices in those crimes are still at work in Kosovo, developing the growth of radical Islamist cells there, with support from Saudi and other Arab countries channeling funds via diaspora Albanian radicals in Milan, Italy as well as Austria and Bosnia.

The Macedonian government claimed that the August ‘escape’ from Dubrava Prison of Shiti, Jakupi and co. was not a matter of luck, but done purposefully by ‘certain structures’ eager to provoke unrest to influence the Kosovo status process around the scheduled conclusion of ‘final’ negotiations between Serbs and Albanians on 10 December. That said, the bold, professional and unexpected operation was a sign of how far the country has come since the 2001 war, when unnecessary collateral damage and widespread leaks precluded efficient operations.

The present raid was very impressive, thus, in that it involved a multi-ethnic police force, operating in hostile and remote territory, and in that it unfolded amidst total secrecy. The fact that innocent bystanders were not affected also speaks well for the interior ministry’s newfound professionalism; this outcome is crucial as critics such as the opposition DUI party of former NLA boss Ali Ahmeti cannot claim it to have been an attack on the Albanian people, and thus use it to provoke knock-on violence.

Future Developments

On 9 November, Macedonian Intelligence Agency Director Viktor Dimovski was quoted as stating that Macedonia “is not under any immediate threat” of attacks from abroad following Operation Mountain Storm. However, rumblings from Kosovo and from NLA war veterans indicate that new provocations may occur. A shadowy, Tetovo-based separatist organization, calling itself the Political-Military Council of the KLA, claimed that the Jakupi-Shiti group was linked to them, and swore it would defend Albanian “national honor” through violence.

The still unknown organization claims that it has created paramilitary groups allegedly “to protect the endangered Albanian people, and every inch of Albanian territory.” In a statement relayed by Serbia’s B92, the group vows that “there can be no stable political or military solution, peace or stability in the turbulent Balkans without respect and implementation of a decision taken at a conference in Bujan for self-determination (Kosovo, and unification with Albania), and for institution of a military oath for all three liberation armies – Kosovo, Eastern Kosovo (Preševo, Bujanovac, Medveđa), and Macedonia.”

For his part, the better known local radical Xhezair Shaqiri (“Commander Hoxha”) threatened to “square accounts” with the Interior Ministry, reported Sitel Television, stating “we will wait for the police wherever they come.” Unlike the obscure “Political-Military Council,” Commander Hoxha begged ignorance of the culprits in Brodec shootout.

There are signs, however, of a certain momentum building up as Macedonia shows it is serious about cleaning up the territory from would-be troublemakers, and that outsiders are beginning to respect this. Three days after the police operation, the Kosovo government extradited another Albanian, Zaim Halili, to Macedonia. Halili had been wanted for the murder of Fatmir Alili, the (also Albanian) police chief of Matejce village, north of Kumanovo. In the attack of 9 September, which also involved two other accomplices, two Macedonian policemen, Janche Kitanov and Sladjan Kostovski were injured.

To conclude, the government’s success in eliminating paramilitary threats on their own turf and before they have time to position heavy weaponry is a dramatic and unprecedented defeat for the Albanian irredentists who would like to sever the western third of Macedonia for themselves. There are a number of reasons for this. A significant one is that the Macedonian police are much better trained and equipped than they were six, or even three years ago. The second vital factor is that they received cooperation from locals; indeed, without tips from local Albanians, discovering the vigilantes and their stashed weapons would have been much more difficult. Interestingly, a local Albanian from Brodec interviewed by television journalists stated that had the police in 2001 done such a ‘neat’ operation in the beginning of the war, it could have been stopped before escalating out of control. This week’s operation shows that the Macedonian security forces have come a long way in that time.

he variant of Macedonians being minority among six million Albanians is more acceptable than Bulgarian occupation

Skopje. Ismet Ramadani, MP and leader of the Party for Democratic Prosperity has publicly resumed the political initiative for the setting up of ALMAKOS – union between Albania, Macedonia and Kosovo. After Kosovo declares independence, of course, writes Dragan Pavlovic Latas, editor-in-chief of Skopje newspaper Vecer under the headline ‘ALMAKOS’. At a moment when Ramadani revives idea of ALMAKOS former Macedonian PM Ljubcho Georgievski resumed old idea of Macedonian split-up, the journalist notes.
“Macedonian split-up or establishing a federation with Albania. There is no other way. Or there is. How many times have Bulgarian politicians said for the past years that we are theirs, that we don’t exist, to which we react coolly”, he writes.
The author says after Macedonia’s melting to Bulgaria uniting with Kosovo would be a far better way. It is not good, but it’s better than the first one if someone lets us choose: whether to be a minority among six million Albanians or be under Bulgarian occupation, he believes.

Miloshoski: Macedonia has solved its "Albanian issue"

Macedonia has solved its Albanian issue and the Ohrid Agreement offers an integration model that may serve as an example to the other multi-national states, Macedonian foreign minister Antonio Miloshoski said in an interview with the Swiss daily "Neue Zuricher Zeitung".

He also said that Macedonia would get an invitation for membership in NATO and that the negotiations with the European Union (EU) might begin in 2008.

"A country with no oil or gas reserves with 2 and not 200 million citizens surely has a limited sovereignty. Macedonia wants to hand down part of that sovereignty to Brussels", Miloshoski said.

However, the foreign minister rejected the suggestions that membership in EU is the only way for Macedonia to survive in the existing borders, as according to him, the country reconfirmed its vitality over the past years of existence. Miloshoski also reminded that in addition to EU, Macedonia enjoys great backing of the United States of America too.

When asked to explain why Macedonia's neutral position regarding Kosovo's independence has given way to Kosovar Albanians' efforts to gain an independent state, the minister said that Macedonia "is not supporting the Kosovar Albanians, but the international community".

As to the relations with official Belgrade, which frowned at shifting of Skopje's position, Miloshoski said they remained steady and normal, mostly thanks to the personal friendly relations with Serbian president Boris Tadic and vice-prime minister Bozidar Gjelic.

Macedonia and Albania have great chances of joining NATO

Macedonian and Albanian Defense Ministers Lazar Elenovski and Fatmir Mediu share the opinion that Macedonia and Albania have great chances of joining NATO, the Macedonian A1 TV channel informs.
The two ministers met in Tirana and agreed on the steps to be taken in the next two months so that the countries could receive membership invitations next year. Ministers Elenovski and Mediu agreed also on joint lobby for the countries’ NATO membership.

Crvenkovski, Moisiu pleased with Macedonia-Albania relations

Presidents of Macedonia and Albania on Monday expressed their "mutual satisfaction" on the relations between the two countries.

Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski and the visiting Albanian President Alfred Moisiu said they are pleased with the high degree of bilateral relations, the commitment to building amicable relations and comprehensive bilateral co-operation, and the commitment to continuing the contacts at all levels.

The interlocutors underscored the need to further boost the economic and cultural cooperation.

They also commended the progress the both countries have made thus far in terms of NATO membership efforts and the co-operation of the Adriatic Charter signatory-countries, which expect to get an invitation for NATO membership at the next Alliance's summit.

Crvenkovski and Moisiu shared the position that both Macedonia and Albania need to invest additional efforts to wrap up the reform. President Crvenkovski spelled out Macedonia's commitment to supporting Albania and shares its own experience on the road to Euro-Atlantic integration, says the official statement released shortly after the talks.

No Problems between Macedonia and Albania that can’t be Solved

Skopje. There are no problems between Macedonia and Albania that can’t be solved and the bilateral relations are a model example and contribute to the security in the region. It was the conclusion of the meeting today between Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Antonio Miloshoski and his Albanian counterpart Besnik Mustafaj, MRT reported. Miloshoski is on an official visit in Tirana. During the meeting he pointed to the importance of 2007 in terms of the cooperation and reforms within the Adriatic Charter Group before the NATO’s summit and the expected invitations for membership. Miloshoski and Mustafaj also discussed an increase in the economic cooperation. Macedonia’s Foreign Minister expressed his satisfaction with the tourism exchange between the two countries stressing that the two countries should put efforts for the infrastructure connection between AMBO oil pipeline and Corridor 8.

Macedonia and Albania to step up cooperation

Macedonia and Albania will step up mutual cooperation in the areas of economy and tourism, and special focus will be put to the energy sphere.

Macedonian and Albanian Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Antonio Miloshoski and Besnik Mustafaj, stated this today in Tirana, Makfax's correspondent reported.

"Macedonia vowed to build a 400kW power line that will be of great importance to Albania in terms of electricity imports", Mustafaj said.

Miloshoski on his part said that Macedonia will help Albania to overcome the energy crisis, noting, however, that it will by no means include increasing the allowed quantity of water release on the Albanian side of the Ohrid Lake.

Macedonian Foreign Minister met also with the Albanian Prime Minister, Sali Berisha. The interlocutors discussed details relating the forthcoming visit of the Macedonian PM Nikola Gruevski to Tirana.

Miloshoski's agenda included also talks with the Albanian President Alfred Mojsiu, at which they expressed content of the current bilateral relations between the two countries.

Macedonian Minister held meeting with the representatives of the Macedonian parties and associations in Albania, at which they reiterated call to the Albanian authorities to respect their rights guaranteed by the International Conventions.