Tirana calls for calm in neighboring Macedonia

TIRANA, Feb. 15 – Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Edmond Haxhinasto met Monday with new Macedonian Ambassador in Tirana Vele Trpevski to talk on the bilateral ties, developments in the region and integration processes.
But Haxhinasto also exploited the meeting to make a call for calm to the Macedonian people, be they Albanian or Macedonian following the recent clashes in capital Skopje.
With regard to the latest developments in Skopje, following the clashes between representatives of the largest ethnic communities, Minister Edmond Haxhinasto stated that Macedonia’s ethnic, cultural and religious diversity should be a value for the country and not premises for clashes and violence, said a ministry statement. “Inter-ethnic harmony is important for Macedonia’s integrity and for its integration to NATO and to the EU.”
Sunday’s clash between mainly Muslim ethnic Albanians, who comprise one-fourth of the country’s 2 million people, and Macedonians broke out at the historic Kale Fortress in a dispute over a new structure being built on the foundations of a 13th Century church.
Rival groups threw stones at each other, with police intervening to restore order.
Eight people, including two officers, were treated in hospital for injuries, including one person who suffered stab wounds. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
Macedonia’s mainly Muslim ethnic Albanians have objected to what they said was the rebuilding of a church on the site. They have demanded a mosque be built alongside it.
Culture ministry officials, who have not specified the use of the new structure but have hinted it would be a museum rather than a place of worship, rejected the Albanians’ demand, saying the fortress had never contained a mosque.
Haxhinasto held that the very good level of the relations of cooperation and good-neighborliness between the two countries serves the spirit of progress and stability in the region and, in particular, the common interests of the Euro – Atlantic integration.
After reconfirming Albania’s support to Macedonia’s NATO membership, Haxhinasto underlined that the reform performance in Macedonia should serve the integration processes, stressing at the same time the importance for the full implementation of the Ohrid Agreement.
Ambassador Trpevski commended the current stage of cooperation between the two countries and, in particular, the political dialogue and the exchange of high – level visits.
The interlocutors stressed the need of boosting the economic cooperation, highlighting the need to increase trade exchanges, launching concrete actions for the advancement of common projects in infrastructure and energy, in the context of Corridor 8 and Project AMBO.