The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, is paying a working visit to the Republic of Turkey today and, within the visit, in Istanbul, he met with the President of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

At the meeting, the two presidents expressed satisfaction with the high level of overall bilateral relations between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Turkey, with the high level of political dialogue and trust, and the absence of outstanding issues.

They both appraised the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries and expressed readiness for further development of the cooperation in all spheres of mutual interest, with a special emphasis on the economic cooperation. The rapid and dynamic growth of the Turkish economy opens up major investment opportunities in the Republic of Macedonia, which is in the interest of both countries, was stated at the meeting.

During the talks, the presidents exchanged views and information on several issues: the current political situation, the foreign - policy objectives and priorities of the two countries and the situation with the migrant crisis.

President Ivanov expressed his expectation that the Republic of Turkey, in anticipation of the upcoming NATO Summit in Warsaw, will continue its strong and open support for membership of the Republic of Macedonia in NATO. "If the Alliance fails to build consensus on reviewing the conclusions of the Bucharest Summit, despite the ICJ ruling, and does not correct the error and injustice of Bucharest, then we expect it to be creative and find a way to bridge this status - quo, which is not in favor of the Republic of Macedonia, the region or the Alliance itself", President Ivanov said.

The two presidents exchanged information on the latest developments regarding the refugee crisis, being the biggest challenge facing the region, the European Union and Europe at present. The Macedonian President informed President Erdogan on the measures and activities taken by the Republic of Macedonia in dealing with the crisis, as well as on the needs for greater technical and financial assistance. President Ivanov said that enhanced cooperation is necessary between the countries in the region in the context of constant information sharing and prevention of the threats and risks of illegal migration. In this context, the two presidents stressed that all countries are affected by the refugee crisis and must share responsibility and respect the common policies to tackle the crisis, while protecting their national security.

The occasion for the visit of President Ivanov to Istanbul was his presence at the funeral of Mr. Ibrahim Cevahir, a Turkish businessman and owner of the "Cevahir Holding", a great friend of the Republic of Macedonia and investor in our country.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Mitko Chavkov.

The meeting, which took place after the adoption of the conclusions of the meeting of the EU leaders in Brussels, discussed the measures and actions taken to prevent and deal with the influx of illegal migrants in the regions affected by the crisis situation and their movement through the territory the Republic of Macedonia.

The meeting concluded that all entities participating in the crisis management system are functioning with increased activities and face a lack of material facilities, personnel, technical equipment and vehicles.

Minister Chavkov informed that the Ministry of Internal Affairs asked for help and assistance from the EU for the prevention system to supplement the capacity needed. The Republic of Macedonia, as a transit territory on the Balkan migration corridor, is facing the consequences of the attitude of the European Union member-states, Minister Chavkov said. A member-state with organized institutional capacity leads the migrants to our southern border, while other member-states hamper their movement to the desired country in the Union. He added that the Balkan migration corridor in the past ten days has repeatedly been interrupted.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs recorded entry of 6,000 to 7,000 foreign nationals per day, while the information and analyses indicate that there will be an increase of the migrant influx in the months to come. The police forces, supported by the Army units, will be engaged in an extremely complex activity. If the corridor is interrupted and the borders are closed, and due to the weather condition, Macedonia will be forced to apply appropriate response plans to protect its national security, the Minister of Internal Affairs said.

In the coming period, as Minister Chavkov informed, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will face an additional challenge in achieving its jurisdiction in the public and national security system when it is expected to use its capacities, needed to secure the election process and polling stations in the Republic of Macedonia.

President Ivanov urged development of programs for ongoing information and raising the awareness of the citizens and the society about the threat and risks of illegal migration the Republic of Macedonia is facing.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, on the occasion of the religious holiday Kurban Bairam, sent a congratulation note to the Head of the Islamic community, Reis-ul-Ulema Sulejman Efendi Rexhepi, and to all citizens of Islamic religion in the Republic of Macedonia.

Respected Reis-ul-Ulema Sulejman Efendi Rexhepi,

Let me congratulate you personally, the members of the Riyaset, muftis, imams and all citizens of Islamic religion in the Republic of Macedonia, the holiday of Kurban Bairam.

This holiday is also known as the "feast of sacrifice", symbolizing the approximation of man to God. Kurban Bairam celebrates Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice his son, and the sacrificial lamb represents the obedience to God. Kurban Bairam is a holiday of mercy and sharing with the family, friends and the poor.

Holidays teach us not to forget the fundamental human values, to forgive, to have understanding, to believe. It teaches us to the ancient tradition, helping each other to strengthen the coexistence and respect among the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia.

Let me once again congratulate you and all believers of Islamic religion the holiday of Kurban Bairam and wish you pleasant days filled with happiness, joy and prosperity.

Dr. Gjorge Ivanov

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Igor Crnadak, who is paying an official visit to the Republic of Macedonia.

The meeting discussed the traditionally good bilateral relations between the Republic of Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the regional cooperation and initiatives, as well as the European and Euro-Atlantic integration of the two countries.

President Ivanov and Minister Crnadak expressed mutual interest in strengthening and deepening of the bilateral cooperation, which they assessed as successful and without outstanding issues. In this context, President Ivanov stressed the necessity of intensifying the political dialogue between the two countries, and said that the visit of Minister Crnadak is a concrete confirmation of the mutual efforts in that direction.

In terms of the economic cooperation, the interlocutors agreed that the political cooperation is lagging behind and does not correspond to the objective capacities of the two economies, and thus expressed mutual interest in its further intensification and deepening.

President Ivanov and Minister Crnadak agreed that the EU and NATO integration of the Western Balkans are needed not only for increased cooperation in all fields of interest of the countries in the region, but also for the strong support in the reform processes in our societies and thus must be accelerated. The Republic of Macedonia, President Ivanov said, is ready for a closer cooperation between the two countries in the context of the EU accession process.

At the meeting they exchanged views and information on the current challenges related to the migrant crisis.

The President of the Republic of Macedonian, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, received today Ambassador Nina Suomalainen, the new Head of the OSCE Mission in the Republic of Macedonia.

At the meeting, President Ivanov stressed that the Republic of Macedonia highly appreciates the role of the OSCE and the support to the Macedonian authorities in numerous areas – the rule of law, electoral process and legislation, support in areas such as police and judiciary, promotion of inter-ethnic relations and coexistence, media and freedom of expression.

In this context, the Macedonian President added that the Republic of Macedonia will continue to work together with the OSCE in supporting the reform in different areas, motivated by the country's European integration agenda.

President Ivanov informed Ambassador Suomalainen that key challenge for the Republic of Macedonia still remains the unblocking of the status quo in terms of our European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Ambassador Suomalainen highlighted her expectations and priorities as Head of the OSCE mission and briefed President Ivanov with the upcoming activities related to the elections and the electoral process.
The meeting discussed the current political situation in the country, as well as the current challenges associated with the migrant crisis.

At the same time, President Ivanov congratulated Ambassador Suomalainen on her appointment to the duty, Head of the OSCE Mission in the Republic of Macedonia, and wished her professional success.

Reaction from the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia regarding the article titled "Djole's signature is worth 6000 Euros", published in Vest daily newspaper on September 17, 2015.

The Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, as regards the article titled "Djole's signature is worth 6000 Euros", published in Vest daily newspaper on September 17, 2015, is able to note the following:

For the umpteenth time, the Editor-In-Chief of the abovementioned media continues to shamelessly lie, manipulate and misinform the Macedonian public regarding the activities of the President of the Republic of Macedonia. With this article, he is in error again.

Instead of disclosing the real price of the flight, the Editor-In-Chief unconsciously disclosed the amount of his monthly salary of 6000 Euros.

The price of the flight to and from Montenegro, according to the official documents of the Service for General and Common Affairs, which is easily verifiable, is 969 Euros in total.