Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski rejected the proposal from several Albanian parties that a union of majority ethnic Albanian municipalities is formed in Macedonia. The proposal came from the Alternative party – recently removed from Kovacevski’s coalition – as well as from the Izet Mexhiti led faction of the ruling DUI party, and both responded to the growing pressure on Kosovo to allow the creation of an association of majority Serbian municipalities. Such proposals could easily lead to internal partition of the countries and then, actual partition along ethnic lines.

This is an unserious idea. Such relations in our country are resolved with the 2001 Ohrid framework treaty signed by representatives of all parties, both of the Macedonians and the Albanians, and guaranteed by the US and the EU. On the basis of the Ohrid treaty, Macedonia is now a model of coexistence and respect of the rights of all ethnic groups in the state. We have resolved minority rights and how we will live and advance and on the basis of this we became an EU member state that negotiates with the EU and the security and stability of our country is at such a high level above 2001 that we are a country where the Berlin process treaties, that are signed by all the Western Balkan countries are deposed. That is why I believe that this proposal is unacceptable, unserious, un-European and un-American, Kovacevski said.

This position was seconded by Kovacevski’s minister for local administration Risto Penov. “I understand that this is an attempt to score political points but they need to be careful with such statements and demands. This can influence relations between our people, which are, fortunately, much more stable now. I suppose that the citizens won’t be led on these demands to decompoze the country”, Penov said.

Previous proposals to soft-partition Kosovo in this way, between the Albanians and the Serbs, have also led to calls for a similar partition of Macedonia, where the Albanians can lay claim to between a fifth and a third of the country. Leaks have shown that Kovacevski’s predecessor Zoran Zaev was particularly scared of this option.