President Stevo Pendarovski finally congratulated to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, on his strong re-election. Pendarovski’s office said that the message was sent on April 6th, but the message was not published at the time.

The Zaev regime, which Pendarovski is a part of, has a difficult relationship with Vucic and has at times supported protests against him, even though Serbia continues to help Macedonia in vital moments, including with the distribution of vaccines and food aid. Vucic has also often used Zaev’s example – of a politician who accepted all Western orders only to be betrayed even in the matter of opening EU accession talks – as evidence that Serbia should not rush to make concessions on Kosovo.

In this time of serious challenges, when there is need to strengthen stability, prosperity and the European future of the region, I’m sincerely convinced that we will continue to build bridges of friendship and cooperation, Pendarovski said.