Bujar Osmani

Bulgarian Caretaker Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev has greeted the Republic of North Macedonia on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the declaration of its independence, Stoev's Ministry said in a press release on Wednesday.
The country declared its independence from Yugoslavia on September 8, 1991.

North Macedonian authorities have expelled one more Russian diplomat, Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani confirmed at a press conference on Tuesday. 

"The information is correct," he said when asked if the country was expelling a Russian diplomat. "Since the information of this sort is confidential, I can't go into much detail."

Albania is reported to be about to give refuge to some 250 Afghan civilians over the course of the next few days, North Macedonia is expecting to take in around 390 and Kosovo is also preparing to receive an unnamed number of people fleeing Afghanistan after it fell to the Taliban at the weekend.

Balkan governments say they are ready to help evacuate their remaining citizens from Afghanistan after Taliban forces seized control of Kabul over the weekend and as the United States pulls out its remaining forces. Most Balkan nationals still in the country are presumed safe.

Less than a week before the June 22 EU Council opens, North Macedonia's leaders are travelling to neighbouring Bulgaria to explore a possible breakthrough in their dispute that would prompt Sofia to lift its blockade on the start of Skopje's EU accession talks.

North Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said he is ready to beg for a solution in Sofia, but is not prepared to sacrifice the Macedonian identity and language, adding that if the dialogue with Bulgaria is successful, talks may be held as early as 23 June.

Tirana – The foreign ministers of Slovenia, Austria and the Czech Republic, Anže Logar, Alexander Schallenberg and Jakub Kulhanek, stressed the role of EU enlargement to the Western Balkans as they met senior Albanian officials in Tirana on Sunday, a day after visiting neighbouring North Macedonia.

Skopje – Foreign minister of Slovenia, Austria and the Czech Republic, Anže Logar, Alexander Schallenberg and Jakub Kulhanek, expressed support to North Macedonia’s EU path at a working visit to the country on Saturday. Macedonian FM Bujar Osmani thanked for their support and called for EU accession talks to start as soon as possible.

North Macedonia has fulfilled all the democratic conditions to open EU accession talks, but it is constantly being "kicked" around, said President Zoran Milanovic on Thursday after Sofia criticised his statements about Bulgaria's policy on that EU membership aspirant.

At an informal videoconference of EU foreign ministers on Thursday, Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu underlined that the enlargement process must remain a major priority with the EU.