Russian MFA ironically reprimanded Stoltenberg’s statement after his meeting with Zaev

A spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Marija Zakharova, at today’s press briefing ironically commented on the statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg after meeting with Zoran Zaev, on Monday this week in Brussels.



Zakharova addressed Stoltenberg’s statement in which he said that any outside interference in the internal political processes of a country is unacceptable, adding that brazen interference from the West caused a deep crisis in Macedonia.

“We paid attention to the statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, on June 12th, about the outcome of his meeting with the Prime Minister of Macedonia, Zoran Zaev. The head of NATO stated that any outside interference in internal political processes is unacceptable. To speak openly, we have not heard the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, criticize so harshly Washington, the leadership of the European Union, Berlin, Tirana, himself and his organization. That gross interference from the West caused a deep and lasting crisis in the country. This crisis has led to the serious degradation of the situation in this country. We give full support to the evaluation of the Stoltenberg. It would be nice if Western countries begin to use these views in practice”, Zakharova said.

Otherwise Zaev, on Monday had his first official visit to Brussels, where besides the NATO Secretary General, he met with the High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Federica Mogherini, EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn and President of the European Council, Donald Tusk.