English
UK Ambassador to Macedonia Matthew Lawson today denied claims from the opposition SDSM party and some British media outlets that the agreement for strategic partnership includes provisions that will lead to Macedonia hosting a camp for refused asylum seekers from the UK.
The idea that this has somehow morphed into an idea of migrants for money, I can tell you and your citizens, is simply not true. The components of the strategic partnership are all separate. We are both sovereign governments making agreements on each of the components and the idea that the British Government would do something that your Government is uncomfortable with is absolutely not true. There is no agreement and there never has been on migrants for money. So there’s bit a lot of noise about this in the media and I’m grateful for the opportunity to sort of clear this out for the benefit of citizens. The idea that we would offer partnership and then require you to take migrants is simply not true, said Ambassador Lawson.
The Ambassador said that the migrant cooperation segment of the agreement refers to coordination in the fight against illegal smuggling of people, similar to the agreements Macedonia already has with the EU Frontex organization.