VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski strongly denounced attempts by Zoran Zaev to present himself as a pro-Western leader, while the opposition as anti-Western. Mickoski added that it was VMRO-DPMNE that signed that treaty of strategic partnership with the United States in 2008, that negotiated the visa liberalization regime with the European Union and ensured the stabilization and association process with the EU. 

We received a dozen positive recommendations to open the EU accession talks. VMRO-DPMNE respects the US strategic interests. Along with the EU, that is where we strive to go. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t have the right to respect and protect the Macedonian national interests. We owe it to Macedonia, Mickoski added.