2023-05-23 13:27:00
Russian propaganda – “fake news” – has been present in North Macedonia for many years. This was especially the case during the 2018 referendum on the country’s name change, because the Russians knew that if we changed our name – which was the precondition – we would enter NATO very quickly. It was very important for the Russians to prevent this. This is what happened in Montenegro, a few years ago, in 2017. They even attempted a military coup then, trying to kill the then president of Montenegro in order to prevent Montenegro from joining NATO.
In September 2018, we were targeted by Russian-linked groups who created dozens of internet portals overnight. These questioned NATO membership. They said, “Why would you want to go there? To be vassals of America? To be the servants of America or of the Europeans? You don’t need this. This is the legacy of the cold war, you will only spend money on weapons and not for the benefit of your people”.
This propaganda has dried up?
Since the war in Ukraine started, this Russian propaganda has diminished. I don’t know regarding the region, but for North Macedonia it certainly is. Because the Russians are now completely absorbed in the war in Ukraine and their resources are being used to counter the Western narrative. But they are always present. In 2018, they tripled the diplomatic staff of the embassy in Skopje. Triple. In the meantime, we expelled 18 Russian spies, disguised as diplomats. It is obvious to everyone that Russia will not give up. But today, she is completely preoccupied with this war.
New threat from Medvedev: the more weapons kyiv receives from the West, the greater the risk of “nuclear apocalypse”
Your country is very involved in the war in Ukraine. You delivered Sukhoi. Why did you decide that?
Coming from the former Yugoslavia, we inherited many Soviet-made weapons. We donate these arms and ammunition, including planes and tanks dating from the fifties, which are no longer part of our inventory because we are moving towards the production of Western armaments, in order to be compatible with our allies within NATO. We are in the top five contributors (in terms of military support) to Ukraine if you take into account the population, which is 1.8 million. At the last coalition meeting in Ramstein, Germany, we also committed to training Ukrainian soldiers in our barracks.
Sending F-16 planes, do you think this is an escalation?
The Kremlin explains in a press release that this is not crossing a red line, but entering a dangerous zone. I don’t believe the Russians will use tactical nukes, which would be Armageddon for all of us.
You don’t fear an all-out war between Russians and Americans?
No, because if we exclude the nuclear option, a weapon that no reasonable person would want to use, Russia is not able to win the war once morest Ukraine, which benefits from Western aid. And in the event of a direct confrontation with the West, Russia would be severely defeated in a very short time.
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