Thewesternbalkans
On 5 and 6 of September, the Turkish foreign minister visited Republic of North Macedonia (RNM) and Kosovo.
North Macedonia.
According to Turkish sources, the two ministers discussed bilateral relations, developments in the Balkans, economic relations and the strengthening of cooperation in the defense industry.
The top priority of the Turkish diplomat was to elevate economic cooperation to the same level as its strong political ties with North Macedonia.
Hakan Fidan announced that he discussed with his North Macedonian counterpart, Timco Mucunski, the potential establishment of a ‘High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council’ to formalise and enhance bilateral relations.
Fidan emphasised that Türkiye had conveyed its serious intentions on the matter, noting that Türkiye aims to elevate economic cooperation between the two countries to match the level of their political relations.
The top Turkish diplomat stressed that the aim is to increase the volume of trade between Türkiye and North Macedonia to $2 billion and mentioned that he and Mucunski had discussed the steps to achieve this goal.
He said that Türkiye is closely following the developments in North Macedonia and added that he believes that the development will accelerate in the new government period Energy and military cooperation.
“The defence industry companies in our country are world leaders and I would like to emphasise that these companies are ready to contribute to North Macedonia.”- Hakan Fidan said.
Saying that North Macedonia has a ‘special’ place for him, Fidan mentioned the importance of the Ottoman artefacts in the country for the cultural richness of North Macedonia.
Fidan noted that the restored artefacts with the support of Turkish institutions have become major tourist attractions and expressed satisfaction with this development.
He also emphasised that support for cultural initiatives will continue without slowing down in the coming period.
Expressing gratitude for his North Macedonian counterpart’s hospitality, Fidan noted that he had visited North Macedonia and Skopje numerous times over the past 20 years in various capacities.
Fidan also congratulated North Macedonia on its new government, stating: “Türkiye has consistently supported North Macedonia since its independence and will continue to do so.”
In his joint press conference with his counterpart Timco Mucunski, Fidan initially referred to “Macedonia” (rather than North Macedonia), and only later used the country’s full name.
“The companies of our country’s defense industry hold leading positions in the world and I would like to stress that these companies are ready to contribute to North Macedonia,” said Fidan.
He also referred to the Turkish minority in North Macedonia, stressing that “we attach importance to the positive relations between the Turkish communities in North Macedonia and the maintenance of this harmony.”
“We believe that the rights and demands of the Turkish community based on the law will be respected by all authorities in North Macedonia. I am confident that the new government will also open its arms to the issue of the Turkish community’s demands for education in their mother tongue and infrastructure needs within the framework of the law,” he added.
For his part, Mucunski asserted that “ Türkiye is our partner and ally in NATO.”
“Since independence, our country has always relied on Türkiye and they are our loyal and proven friends. They have supported our country in achieving its highest strategic goals,” he stressed, adding that “we share common views with Turkey on security and regional issues.”
Kosovo.
On Friday, 6 of September, the Foreign Minister of Turkey, Hakan Fidan, visited Kosovo. During the meeting with his Kosovar counterpart, Donika Gërvalla, they talked about a lot of thing concerning bilateral cooperation, but as a mater o priority they discussed the steps that should be taken against the Hizmet movement of the cleric Fetullah Gulen.
Turkey refers to with the acronym FETO and has declared the same organization terrorist.
During a media conference on September 6, Fidan claimed that this organization poses a threat to Kosovo as well.
“We also talked about the fight against terrorism, about the steps that should be taken against the terrorist organization FETO [Fethullaist Terrorist Organization]. Unfortunately, FETO’s presence in Kosovo continues to be of concern to us. I want to remind you that FETO is a threat to Kosovo as well. We must fight this organization together”, said Fidan.
At the press conference, Fidan also said that his country will continue to support Kosovo in all fields and said that Ankara is preparing to sign an agreement in the field of security with Pristina, but did not give more details about it.
Speaking about peace and stability in the region, the Turkish diplomat said that Türkiye supports the dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which is mediated by the European Union.
“We believe that the problems of Kosovo and Serbia can only be solved through dialogue. We support efforts to achieve normalization between the two countries. The dialogue process between Kosovo and Serbia is very important in this dispute. If any request comes, we as Turkey will not hesitate to take responsibility in this direction”, he said.
The Turkish chief diplomat said that Türkiye wants trade exchanges to increase to 1 billion euros, as he said that so far, Turkish companies have invested 500 million euros in Kosovo and created 10,000 jobs.
He also promised that his country will continue support in training, but also in the provision of military equipment for the Kosovo Security Force.
Meanwhile, the Kosovar chief diplomat, Donika Gërvalla, said that security and regional stability were among the key topics of her meeting with Minister Fidan.
She said that the role of Türkiye, but also of NATO, is important in guaranteeing regional peace and stability, as she accused neighboring Serbia of destabilizing actions.
“Kosovo remains committed to the partnership with NATO and strengthening its presence in our country as a guarantee for the protection of peace in the region. In this context, we see Serbia as a real threat to regional stability. The threats to block the border points today are just an added proof of the hegemonic intentions, but also of the concrete provocative and destabilizing actions of Serbia which go beyond verbal threats”, said Gërvalla.
Hakan Fidan’s visit was made at a time when the Kosovo authorities have angered Serbia with a series of actions they have undertaken in the north of the country – a part inhabited by a majority of Serbs – inciting criticism from the international community.
Comments: Three days after the opening of the defense company ASELSAN’s headquarters in North Macedonia, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visited Skopje on Thursday in a bid to demonstrate the role Ankara wants to play in the internal affairs of North Macedonia and the Balkans. That’s why the economic and security cooperation were the top priorities of the visit.
This is Hakan Fidan’s second visit to Skopje in the last three months. On June 24, he was in the RSM on the occasion of the Cooperation in Southeast Europe summit. Now, however, he was on an official visit in his capacity as foreign minister. Turkey has an old attraction to the lands of the former Ottoman Empire, and therefore cultural artifacts from that time are of particular importance to Ankara.
Moreover, Türkiye owes a lot to the Turkish community in the RSM.
The country was also one of Skopje’s advocates for joining NATO.
Regarding Kosovo, Türkiye was one of the first countries to recognize the country’s independence and expressed unreserved support thereafter to the young state. The authority of the Turkish military in Kosovo is particularly preserved. It is unnecessary to go into the thickets of Neo-Osmanism, but it can certainly be said that Hakan Fidan’s visit to the two Balkan states is Neo-Osmanism in action.
