European Union Ambassador to Macedonia Samuel Zbogar met with the newly elected President Stevo Pendarovski, as well as with the opposition candidate Gordana Siljanovska – Davkova.

In a statement after meeting Pendarovski, Zbogar said that he encourages the “healing of rifts” in the Macedonian society. The statement echoes a similar call made by Pendarovski, after the series of arrests of opposition officials and activists over the past years and Pendarovski’s refusal to invite opposition leader Hristijan Mickoski even to his inauguration.

Pendarovski, on the other hand, used the meeting to call for the opening of EU accession talks for “North Macedonia”. The ruling coalition which nominated Pendarovski promised that accession talks will begin in June, but this is almost certainly not going to happen.

Opening of EU accession talks with the “Republic of North Macedonia” is a deserved and necessary step to encourage overall reforms and improve living standards of the citizens, Pendarovski said.

After meeting Siljanovska, Zbogar said that they agreed that the future of “the country” belongs to the European Union.