Since the start of the aggression and annexation of Crimea in 2014, I have always supported Ukraine and the Ukrainians in their struggle for freedom, self-determination and democracy. In the 21st century, when the world is talking about new technologies, a green agenda and the development of space exploration, no one could have imagined war. War in Europe is the scariest thing that could have happened. Therefore, I strongly support Ukraine and that is why we should adopt this report tonight on the consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Aleksandar Nikoloski from VMRO-DPMNE said in his address in Strasbourg.

For the past two days, I have been hearing from our Ukrainian colleagues about the suffering they are facing. Listening to these shocking testimonies, I can only draw a parallel with the fate and denial of the Macedonian people, and the centuries-old disputes with our neighbors that have been and are bigger and more powerful. For centuries, our neighbors have challenged the Macedonians as a separate nation, culture and language. We were victims and expelled during the Balkan Wars and during the Greek Civil War, and finally challenged in the 21st century. The denial of the Ukrainian language and the thesis that the Ukrainian nation is the work of Lenin and the communists is similar to the thesis of the denial of the Macedonian nation and language and the thesis that the Macedonians are the work of Tito and the communist Comintern. Disputing and denigrating the two nations and languages has many similarities and symbolism, even the same words are used. This was not a coincidence, that even the great philosopher Francis Fukuyama, author of the legendary “The End of History and the Last Man” says that there are many similarities in the narratives used against Macedonia and Ukraine and the denial of Macedonians and Ukrainians, said Nikoloski.

The basic value of democracy is that people decide for themselves, but also for who they are and what they are. It is a civilizational gain from which there is no return and which no war or blockade can prevent. With that, I can freely tell the Macedonians that our struggle and destiny is similar to the Ukrainian one and that is why we must support them with all our hearts. We are small and we cannot do much, but the slightest support means a lot in this whirlwind of war. In history, the Macedonian people have always been on the right side, we will be on the side of the truth in this crisis and military aggression, in this suffering and misfortune that is happening in Ukraine. Ukraine will win. Truth and democracy will win, he added.