INTERVIEW: Officials in North Macedonia avoid contact with Russian diplomats — ambassador

MOSCOW, May 2. /TASS/. Most officials in North Macedonia have avoided communication with Russian diplomats, so there has been no response to proposals to restore bilateral cooperation, Russia’s new ambassador to Skopje, Dmitry Zykov, told TASS in his first interview. As a newly-appointed ambassador, Zykov has already met with the Balkan country’s senior officials, including President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova and Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski to whom he presented his credentials. Zykov said he had also met with Ivan Stoilkovic, North Macedonian deputy prime minister for inter-community relations. "Some officials maintain working contacts with the embassy and provide assistance in solving specific issues," the Russian diplomat noted. "Fortunately, unlike our colleagues in a number of other countries, we are not facing pressure, outright rudeness, assaults on the embassy’s security or casual intolerance. However, since 2022, communication with Russian diplomats has been reduced to a minimum, with the majority of local officials, including at the Foreign Ministry, avoiding contact, while proposals to restore bilateral cooperation have also gone unanswered," he lamented.