The way things are shaping up down south (viewed from Belgrade) the tiny, helpless, beleaguered new Balkan state of Macedonia could be the trigger for a wider regional conflict. It is well to remember the adage of veteran politician Franklin Delano Roosevelt, especially in the present context: If it turned out a certain way, it…
The highly influential and well-connected Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) is proposing that Moscow organize a multilateral conference to re-divide the Balkans along ethnic lines, which would advance the controversial proposal made by former British diplomat Timothy Less in late 2016 but might also inadvertently open up Pandora’s Box, though it could very well be…
Nearly two-thirds of Macedonian voters boycotted the faux referendum for changing their country’s constitutional name and facilitating its entry into NATO, yet the vehemence with which the bloc is still trying to get them to join exposes its Hybrid War and anti-democratic modus operandi. NATO membership used to be motivated by a shared fear, however exploited,…
Outside of the Balkans, Macedonia is a country rarely on the radar. Yet, this month, its two million people are at the center of an illusory tug-of-war. As September destinations go, it has plenty of appeal. Daytime temperatures are between 27 and 30 degrees Celsius (80-86 Fahrenheit), nights are balmy and there’s plenty of sunshine….
Conventional reporting on the 2008 Wikileaks cable about the “name negotiations” makes it seem like Tsipras sold out to Macedonia, but it was actually Zaev that sold his country out to Greece, which is actually the reason why the US wanted to install him in power in the first place. Greece’s main opposition leader Kyriakos…
Marketed as a long-awaited diplomatic breakthrough to a supposedly irreconcilable identity issue, the “name deal” represents nothing less than the full and total capitulation of the post-“constitutional coup” Macedonian authorities to their Greek neighbors with implications that stretch far and beyond simply fast tracking Skopje’s subsequent membership to the EU and NATO. Regardless of how…
