Macedonia’s Deputy Prime Minister Musa Xhaferri says that extreme groups want to destabilize Macedonia and Kosovo, and that both governments are working to prevent such a scenario.
Xhaferri was in Pristina on Thursday to meet with Kosovo’s Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, and the Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj.
During his visit, Xhaferri said that the Albanians in Macedonia want to prevent the destabilization of the country and the region, following the latest inter-ethnic incidents.
“The Macedonian government is taking all the necessary steps to make sure that the incidents that have occurred in our country do not have a knock on effect for our societies in general,” Musa Xhaferri said.
“We will not allow extremist groups to destabilize our societies,” he added, without elaborating further on which groups he meant.
Tensions between Macedonians and the Albanian minority spiraled after a rumour spread that the execution of five men near Skopje on April 12, might have been committed by ethnic Albanians. Police have said there is no evidence to support such claims.
Kosovo’s government has condemned the tragedy, and asked all parties to refrain from blaming one group or the other, and to leave room for the police and judiciary to do their job.
In a joint press conference after the meeting, Kosovo’s Foreign Affairs Minister said that Kosovo is interested in seeing a calm and stable Macedonia, and pledged to enhance cooperation between the two countries.