US Vice President Kamala Harris, through a spokesman, told VOA Macedonian that she will work to preserve the Macedonian national identity – which is a burning issue for Macedonia.

Our values protect and respect the rights of the citizens and the nations to freely express their national identities, including the Macedonian identity, and to speak their national languages, including th Macedonian language. Vice President Harris understands how important these values are for the vital Macedonian – American community, the unnamed spokesman told VOA Macedonian.

VOA Macedonian also approached the Trump team where their minorities official Christos Marafcos said that the “Biden administration’s policy on the Balkans was marked with inactivity, empty promises and lack of dedication to true understanding for the unique challenges in the region. Instead of undertaking meaningful economic and growth initiatives, teh Biden administration opted for a passive approach”, Marafcos told VOA Macedonian, while naming all the Balkan countries individually in his statement.

The Harris statement contains a broad committment to the spread of the democracy in the Balkans. Marafcos said that the Trump White House will not make such empty statements, but will work on the ground, with local leaders and the people in the region, and will advance “true democratic values”.