The president of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, addressed holiday greetings to the members of the Albanian ethnic community in the Republic of Macedonia, on the occasion of 22 November – Albanian Alphabet Day.

Distinguished citizens,

Creating an alphabet is a key step in the literacy and cultural development of certain people, it is a reflection of civilization and an essential feature of the collective consciousness and identity of the peoples.

Today's holiday, 22 November, is a significant day for the members of the Albanian community in the Republic of Macedonia. The Albanian language is an important segment of the Macedonian multiethnic and multilingual society.

By respecting the identity characteristics and our differences we reaffirm our efforts to build a better life for all citizens and to build a strong, progressive and European Republic of Macedonia.

On this occasion, I wish Happy Alphabet Day to the members of the Albanian ethnic community in the Republic of Macedonia and call upon all citizens to work together in order to foster and preserve the peace and the Macedonian tradition of coexistence and respect for diversity.

Dr. Gjorge Ivanov

Regarding the press release of the Basic Court Skopje 1, in which the President of the Republic of Macedonia is being accused of interference in the judicial power, the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia considers that the reference to this court for "independence and interference in the judicial power" is intended to conceal the misuse of inaccurate information.

Do not conceal your responsibility behind the independence of the court that on the basis of forgery of untruthful content and constructing lies, the President of the Republic of Macedonia is being abused, you bring decisions for detention and conduct detention policy.

We point out that both we and the public through the publicly announced Detention Decisions got familiar with the content of the copy-paste classified document as "secret" that initiates another type of responsibility for unprofessional conduct in court cases.

The Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia has never reacted to a court decision. We think it is high time, and in the interest of the EU standards that the country is required to fulfill, the judiciary not to hide its own shortcomings behind alleged interference in its independence.

The Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia has not received a response to the request sent to the President of the Basic Court Skopje 1 for the delivery of the official note of the Ministry of Internal Affairs-UBK, which is false in its content and indicates suspicion that the activities of the President of the Republic of Macedonia are being monitored, and at the same time it was used as an argument of the Court in determining the measure of detention of Mile Janakieski and Kiril Bozinovski.

The Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, after the public announcement of the Decision of the Basic Court Skopje 1 for the determination of the detention measure against Mile Janakieski, categorically refuses any involvement in connection with the court decision.

We inform the public that a meeting was not requested nor held with a mediator of Mile Janakieski, as stated in the official note of the UBK, classified as "secret", which is the basis for determining the detention measure. Mile Janakieski asked in a telephone call a meeting with the President Ivanov, which was held on November 13, 2018, Tuesday at 16:00 in the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia At the meeting, the topics of amnesty or abolition were not discussed at all, which the Court calls in the decision for detention, which is in charge of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia.

We consider that this is a construction of lies based on assumptions in order to involve the President of the Republic of Macedonia, which is evident from the publicly announced explanation of the Court's decision.

All of this is a brutal police manipulation and involvement of police officers thus the criminal acts of abuse of official position and authorization, falsification of a document, use of a document with false content are committed.

It remains unclear, on what basis the activities of President Ivanov and his Cabinet are monitored by the UBK?

We expect immediate responses from the Minister of the Interior, the Director of the UBK, of the President of the Basic Court Skopje 1 to the letters of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, which were sent today.

It is obvious that the practice of constructing and generating crises in the Macedonian society continues with the irresponsible behavior of the members of the UBK, something that President Ivanov stressed in the annual address to the MPs in 2017.

President Ivanov, as before, will act exclusively in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia and his competences and under no pressures and threats will he make any concessions thereof.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today the credentials of the newly appointed Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the Republic of Macedonia, with residence in Ankara, H.E. Mr. Ismail Issa Ismail Rifaie.

President Ivanov conveyed congratulations on the occasion of his appointment and expressed interest and readiness for further deepening of the bilateral relations between the two countries.

"I am convinced that you, with your professional engagement, will contribute to the further promotion and enrichment of the cooperation between our friendly countries and peoples in all areas of common interest, for which there is great potential. Be assured that in the exercise of your diplomatic duties you shall enjoy our full support and assistance", the Macedonian President said at the formal act of handing over the credentials.

At the meeting with the Ambassador H.E. Mr. Ismail Issa Ismail Rifaie, President Ivanov expressed satisfaction with the intensification of the cooperation between the two countries in several spheres, especially in the field of intelligence, and welcomed Jordan's constructive role in stabilizing the situation in the Middle East region.

The two interlocutors exchanged views on the current developments in both countries and on the developments in the region.