Macedonian President Softens Stance After Meeting Yee

In what sounded like a softened position from his past tone, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov on Monday said the problems blocking the formation of a new government could be overcome if the new majority in parliament presented strong guarantees for the preservation of the country's unitary character.

"If there is a true leadership by the heads of the parliamentary parties, the legal and political obstacles towards determining the mandate to form the government can be overcome," Ivanov's cabinet stated after the meeting with the US official.

Ivanov has been blocking the formation of a new Social Democrat-led coalition government since March 1, when he refused to offer the mandate to party leader Zoran Zaev, despite Zaev having mustered the support of at least 67 of the 120 MPs in parliament.

"President Ivanov asks the SDSM [Social Democrat] leader to fulfill what he publicly stated that, 'together with the coalition partners they will come and provide guarantees to strengthen the unity of the state and that everything will be in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic,'" the presidential press release reads.

The President further asked the United States, as Macedonia's "strategic partner", to "help the obstacles to be removed and allow the parliamentary majority to get the mandate."

After meeting Yee, Ivanov also for the first time since Thursday's rampage in the parliament, condemned the violence that occurred there.

Ivanov said he "condemns any political and physical violence ... and stressed that solutions must be sought only through dialogue ", his cabinet wrote, adding that people should remain calm "because there are decisions that should be made with reason and through dialogue".

Yee,...