Grubesic: Vucic and Davkova confirmed the historic relations between Serbia and North Macedonia

The President of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovski Davkova, and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, confirmed the traditional and historic relations between Skopje and Belgrade through a symbolic meeting at the Prohor Pcinjski Monastery. They conveyed a key message of mutual desire to enhance cooperation in all areas, pointed out Aleksa Grubesic, a researcher at the Center for Social Stability.

"We simply have both historical and traditional excellent relations. According to all research, the people of North Macedonia view Serbia very positively. The citizens of North Macedonia consider Serbia and Serbians as their greatest friends, and we hope it will remain that way in the future," Grubesic stated for Kosovo Online.

According to him, the key message from the meeting is the strengthening of economic cooperation.

"The key messages, in addition to the traditional relations that should continue to be nurtured, were related to the economy, specifically the trade exchange, which is currently at 1.8 billion euros. Vucic expressed hope that it will exceed two billion euros," Grubesic said.

Commenting on Vucic's announcement about the construction of a high-speed railway on the Belgrade-Presevo route, Grubesic said that the construction of the 170-kilometer section from Kumanovo to Gevgelija would connect the two countries with Thessaloniki.

"And that is what is actually crucial in the relations between Serbia and Macedonia. It is the relationship that has been established through the Open Balkan initiative, through the exchange, that is, the free movement of people, goods, and capital. We have also seen that on this bilateral level, we have many actions that have facilitated both economic cooperation and the movement of people," Grubesic emphasized.

He believes that the Prohor Pcinjski Monastery and the national holiday of North Macedonia, Ilinden, were symbolically chosen for Vucic's first meeting with the new President of North Macedonia. President Siljanovska Davkova wants to establish better relations between Skopje and Belgrade.

"I'm not saying they were bad in the previous period, but we simply had various negative initiatives from North Macedonia, especially considering the resolution on Srebrenica, where Macedonia was a co-sponsor of the resolution. Admittedly, it was a co-sponsor at the initiative of the Albanian foreign minister, but we certainly see that certain positions regarding Serbia from North Macedonia were not in our favor," Grubesic recalled.