Russian FM Lavrov Heads to Macedonia

Lavrov arrives in the historical town of Ohrid | Photo by: FoNet

Lavrov will be greeted by Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki. He is also set to meet with Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov and Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

At Lavrov's request, he will arrive in the Macedonian lake town of Ohrid and not in the capital Skopje, the Macedonian Foreign Ministry has announced. This historic town is regarded as one of the centres of Orthodox Christianity and Slavic literature.

The Macedonian Foreign Ministry also announced that the two countries will soon sign a bilateral treaty on diplomatic cooperation.

“We hope that Lavrov's visit will bring us information about our process in the UN,” Macedonian President Ivanov said on Tuesday ahead of the visit, referring to Skopje's efforts in the UN to find a settlement to its name dispute with Greece.
 
He said that Macedonia appreciates that Russia, as a permanent and influential member of the UN Security Council, recognises the country’s official name.

Macedonia and Greece have been engaged in negotiations for almost two decades over the use of Macedonia's official name. Athens has blocked Skopje’s accession to NATO and progress towards EU membership, arguing that the country should change its official name, the Republic of Macedonia.

During his visit, the Russian foreign minister is expected to bring important documents about Macedonian history.

He will reportedly bring Russian archive documents about the life and work of one of the most important Macedonian literary figures of the late 19th and early 20th century, Krste Petkov Misirkov, who spent much of his life in Russia.

Lavrov will attend an exhibition marking 150 years since the opening of the Russian consulate in the Macedonian town of Bitola.

As part of his Balkans tour, Lavrov has visited Montenegro and Serbia, and will head to Slovenia tomorrow. His visit is seen as confirmation that Russia is interested in the stability of the region and in maintaining its influence in the Balkans.