Distinguished citizens of the Republic of Macedonia,

On several occasions over the past few years, I have publicly warned of the dangers that threaten the stability of the Republic of Macedonia and the sovereignty of its citizens. It is my deepest regret to conclude that all of my warnings were ignored and the result of that disregard is presently felt by everyone.

Today, I address you, the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, in order to unmask all of the lies, conjectures and dark scenarios, which we were bombarded by in the past period. Since the beginning of my mandate I have represented the country responsibly and I am convinced that only with an honest and transparent approach we can counter the lies about the alleged involvement of my Office, the Army of the Republic of Macedonia and the Intelligence Agency in the events around 27 April.

Distinguished citizens,

There was never a conversation, nor was there a consideration in the Office of the President of the Republic of Macedonia to declare state of war or a state of emergency.

Thereby, I dismiss all of the speculations that say the international community put a pressure on me in order to make me step back from some kind of alleged plan for declaring state of war or a state of emergency.

There was never scenario for a state of war or a state of emergency, unless a parallel Supreme Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces and a parallel General Headquarters of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia were operating in the Republic of Macedonia.

The real question is – who, in those moments, benefited from the abuse of the President's Office and from the creation of a false perception that a state of war or a state of emergency is being declared.

I would refer those who accuse me and create fake news in order to delegitimize the institution President, to Article 124 of the Constitution which specifies that a state of war exists when a direct danger of military attack on the Republic is impending, or when the Republic is attacked, or war is declared on it. Furthermore, according to Article 125 of the Constitution, a state of emergency exists when major natural disasters or epidemics take place. My dear fellow citizens, none of the aforementioned has happened on 27 April.

For a year and a half, I, as President of the Republic of Macedonia and my Office were a constant target of fake news and false conjectures in order to involve us in the events of 27 April, no matter the cost.

Starting from 27 April 2017, the Office of the President of the Republic of Macedonia is being blamed without any evidence or indications. Pressure has been put on me and threats have been made in order to make me yield and back down from my attitudes on the political events in the Republic of Macedonia and on the policies that the current Government follows. I am reiterating for who knows how many times – I will not back down from my stances.

These past few days we have even been witnesses to false testimonies given in the court proceedings related to the events of 27 April.

At first, I would like to point out that one is criminally liable for giving a false testimony (perjury) to the Court.
Secondly, I urge everyone who accuses me to feel free to address the competent institutions: the Ministry of Defense, the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, the Intelligence Agency, the Administration for Security and Counterintelligence and other aforementioned institutions, and seek reliable information on the scheduled daily activities of every senior officer, commander and soldier.

These institutions should answer the questions where the persons in charge were on 27 April or before that, and whether there are any administrative records on preparations for state of war or any emergency scenarios.
Just as a reminder, all of the reports from the Office of the President and the Intelligence Agency related to the events on 27 April were delivered to the Primary Public Prosecutor's Office.

Distinguished citizens,

I will remind you once again that my Office has denounced the fake news, which are continuously used to build a negative perception about us, many times. It is my opinion that we need to put an end to this type of nebulous speculations once and for all.

Nothing of what part of the media was writing about this past period turned out to be true. Not even the rumors that we are preparing "Jasen" as a shelter in case of a state of war, nor the claims that my Office permitted entry to a foreign intelligence agent in the Assembly on 27 April.

What is being shunned, intentionally or not, and it is a thing the citizens should be aware of, is that "Jasen" is a Public Enterprise and that it is under the authority of the Government. And this is a fact that can be easily verified. The attempt to cover up the unprofessionalism of a foreign intelligence agent using the excuse that the Office permitted him entry in the Macedonian Assembly was also foiled.

At the same time, the prosecutor Vilma Ruskoska has clearly confirmed that the Public Prosecution Office does not have proof of involvement of the Office of the President in the events on 27 April.

The General Headquarters of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia has also denied involvement in the events on 27 April and called for transparency when providing information related to these events.

Moreover, the Intelligence Agency as well, has strongly condemned all attempts to involve the Agency in conjectures and fake news.

Distinguished citizens,

Now I would like to publicly ask a question. Are the testimonies of the defendants more relevant than the claims of the competent institutions and the public officials?

At the same time, when the General Headquarters clearly and unequivocally denies involvement in the events on 27 April, or any type of scenarios related to state of war or an emergency, I cannot but ask another question in front of the whole Macedonian public – In a time when the days before receiving an official invitation for NATO-membership are numbered, who stands to gain from the degradation of the Army which enjoys the highest reputation among you, the citizens, and it is the only institution that hasn't received any remarks fulfilling the criteria and the standards of NATO.

Just as a reminder, as President of the Republic of Macedonia, I have pointed out two years ago that ASC is the focal point generating all of the political and security crises in the Republic of Macedonia. Even after three years from Priebe's diagnosis, the disease has not been removed. If ASC has the audacity to groundlessly follow the activities of my Office and to put me down, as President, in official notes describing events that never took place, I fear the thought of what is happening with this institution and how reports are fabricated using fictional sources in order to a achieve a certain goal. With premeditated leakage of classified information, a false perception is being built with the goal of eventually producing a court – police case.

On the other hand, I would like to emphasize that lately we are also witnesses of impunity following the premeditated leakage of classified documents from ASC. I would like to call upon the competent institutions to act and sanction this type of incidents which endanger the national security.

Finally, I can conclude that this is but a classic witch hunt and lynch - a desperate scenario constructed against me, my Office and the aforementioned institutions. I assure you that by using these purchased false testimonies and by generating fake news the reality and the real people, who issued the orders for the events of 27 April, cannot be hidden away. The Office of the President is not a service for providing alibis.

Thank you.