Distinguished citizens of the Republic of Macedonia,

On April 12, I made a decision for pardoning – freeing a certain number of persons from criminal charges without implementation of the regular procedure, in accordance with the Constitution and the Law on pardon. It was a decision that I believed then, as I continue to believe, was made above all in the interest of the country and the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia.

Unfortunately, many did not understand this idea, or perhaps did not wish to understand it. The debates in both domestic and international public went into a completely different direction. I was accused of wanting to protect politicians, that I exercised selective justice, or placed politicians above the law.

To the best of my conscience, I hereby state that it was never my intention.

Unlike April 12, today we have a new reality in Macedonia. In conditions of external threats and security risks, we have functional institutions capable of dealing with the challenges arising from the migration crisis, especially having in mind the announcements for a new wave of refugees and migrants.

Dear fellow citizens,

I have made the decision to annul part of the decisions, without the explicit request of the pardoned persons.

Today, in line with the Law supplementing the Law on Pardon, I have made the decision to annul the pardon for all 22 politically active persons.

All other persons, in accordance with the legal amendments, will have the right to submit personal requests for annulment of the decisions for pardon related to them.

No one should have any more doubts. None of the politicians are above the law. None of the politicians is untouchable. On the contrary, everyone will be held responsible for their actions.

I wish to underline that I sincerely believed and I still believe that the decision for pardon was the best possible option to come out of the political crisis. I am convinced that without regaining mutual trust and reconciliation in any form, this crisis will last for a long time, which is not in the interest of the citizens or the state.

I wish to state that I remain ready to help in overcoming the crisis in future, as I have been so far.

Thank you.

Почитувани присутни,
Дами и господа,
Драги пријатели,

Живееме во исклучително тегобно, мачно и турбулентно време. Човештвото е заложник на два меѓусебно преплетени процеса.
Сè уште се обидуваме да се помириме со мрачното наследство од 20-тиот убиствен век во кој околу 300 милиони луѓе настрадаа во војни, политички репресалии и меѓуетничко и меѓуверско насилство. Ниту 21-от век не е лишен од насилства и од конфликти.

Придобивките на глобализацијата се злоупотребуваат за глобализирање на ксенофобијата, омразата и хаосот.

Од друга страна, се поставивме за господари на природата, без да умееме да господариме со сопствената алчност. Го нарушивме кревкиот климатски баланс, рамнотежата меѓу човештвото и природата, и ја загрозивме иднината на нашите потомци.

Светскиот хуманитарен самит се одржува во време кога чашата на човечкото страдање повторно почнува да се прелева. Неопходно е да ги научиме лекциите од 20-от век за да не ги повториме.

Дами и господа,

Република Македонија, беше прв пример на успешна превентивна дипломатија на Обединетите нации. Од 1992 до 1999-та, најпрво УНПРОФОР, а потоа УНПРЕДЕП спречија прелевање на конфликтите од поранешна Југославија во Македонија.

Ценети екселенции,

Пред нас има две опции и од нашата генерација зависи во која насока ќе се движиме.

Првата опција е да бидеме проактивни и да се обидеме од оваа криза на човештвото да го извлечеме најдоброто. Но, за тоа ни се неопходни храбри чекори:

Прво: Јасни правила на играта. Зборуваме за ерозија на почитувањето на човековите права и хуманитарното право, а дозволуваме другите сегменти на меѓународното право да бидат игнорирани.

Повикуваме на почитување на Меѓународниот кривичен суд, а ги занемаруваме пресудите на Меѓународниот суд на правдата. Ќе ве потсетам дека веќе 5 години Македонија чека меѓународната заедница да ја испочитува пресудата на врвниот светски правен авторитет – Меѓународниот суд на правдата.

Двојните стандарди го суспендираат меѓународното право и оставаат простор за анархичност во меѓународните односи. Алтернативата на меѓународното право и меѓународниот поредок е глобалниот хаос и глобалниот непоредок.

Како второ, потребно ни е економски праведен систем.

Како трето, потребно инвестирање во обновата на разорените општества.

Четврто, потребно ни е помирување.

Драги пријатели,

Имаме и втора опција, а тоа е да продолжиме како и досега. Но, тогаш постои опасност меѓународниот систем за одржлив и инклузивен економски развој да се заглави во бирократските лавиринти и да стане заложник на борбата за моќ и влијание.

Затоа денес неопходно е храбро политичко лидерство, кое нема да биде паралелизирано од страв. Овој самит и оваа агенда ни помагаат да направиме храбри чекори кон создавање свет во кој ќе биде обновена вербата во човештвото и во солидарноста, во кој ќе се почитуваат и заштитуваат човековите права и правото на човечкото достоинство.

Ви благодарам.

Почитувани граѓани на Република Македонија,
Почитувани припадници на безбедносните сили,
Почитувани членови на семејствата на македонските херои,
Драги пријатели,

Пред малку ја чувме химната на Република Македонија во која ја воспеваме слободата. Тоа е слобода кон која се стремеле нашите предци, за која се бореле нашите илинденци и за која се избориле нашите партизани и АСНОМ-ци. Тоа е слобода во која живееме веќе четврт век. Но, историјата нè потсетува дека слободата не е стекната еднаш засекогаш и дека секојдневно се брани и чува. Најревносни чувари на слободата на Македонија се нашите безбедносни сили.

Денеска се собравме за да им се заблагодариме за сето она што го прават за Македонија во овие тешки времиња исполнети со предизвици, закани и ризици.

Во годината кога требаше да славиме четврт век независност, станавме нација заразена со сомнежи. Се шири недоверба во институциите и страв меѓу граѓаните. Македонското општество е поделено по речиси сите основи. Длабоката политичка криза го намали безбедносниот имунитет на Република Македонија. Се соочуваме со постојани и директни закани по националната безбедност и со опасност од загрозување на јавната безбедност. За заканата од илегалната миграција е активиран кризниот менаџмент, а нашите институции функционираат во кризна состојба. Со други зборови, по којзнае кој пат, Македонија се соочува со тегоби и маки.

Почитувани полициски службеници,

Во овој период вие минувате низ троен предизвик. Врз вашите плеќи, вие и вашите браќа по оружје од Армијата на Република Македонија, ја носите тежината на мигрантската криза и насилството на границата. Се соочувате со безбедносните закани од тероризмот и од насилниот екстремизам, насилните акти во градовите и последиците од политичката криза.

Распоредени на нашата јужна граница и на подрачјата зафатени со криза, вие, заедно со Армијата, го чувате суверенитетот на Република Македонија и ја штитите Европа од заканата од илегалната миграција.

Имате тешка улога достојна за историјата. Вие сте чувари на портите за влез во Европа. Секојдевно се соочувате со постојани насилни акти и напади, но и организирано насилство од некои мигранти и нивните помагачи. Но, не потклекнавте ниту за миг. Извршувате задачи во сложени услови за работа. Професионално одговарате на предизвиците. Вашиот одговор е препознатлив во Европа. Тој е гаранција за одлучноста на Македонија да го запре протокот на илегалната миграција и да ги намали безбедносните ризици.

Чувајќи го јавниот ред и мир низ нашата татковина, вие спречувате насилно уривање на државните институции, го заштитувате животот, личната сигурност и имотот на граѓаните. Но, и на овој план се соочувате со предизвици.

Знам дека нема ништо потешко од тоа да се биде напаѓан од своите сограѓани, за чиј мир и безбедност го ризикувате животот.
Знам и дека вашите семејства секојдневно со страв ве испраќаат и со солзи ве дочекуваат.
Знам дека вие и вашите најблиски сте изложени на притисок од дел од јавноста.
Знам дека секој од овие предизвици е проверка за вашата издржливост.
Но, во ниту еден момент не се сомневам во вашата висока лојалност кон државата. А, државата се институциите и граѓаните, независно од нивната етничка, јазична, верска, политичка или која било друга припадност.

Вие сте еден од столбовите на нашата држава за заштита на националната безбедност.

Вие сте доказ дека институциите функционираат и професионално и одговорно си ја вршат работата, и тоа во исклучително сложени услови.

Почитувани присутни,

Како претседател и врховен командант често се соочувам со тешки одлуки. Но, за мене нема потешка одлука од посмртното одликување на припадници на безбедносните сили.

На 9 мај, на Денот на победата и Денот на Европа, бранејќи го нашето осумзрачно сонце, осум херои ги положија животите.

Тажно е што наместо да им се оддаде должна почит, во јавноста се ширеа разни шпекулации, обвинувања и коментари во кои припадниците на полицијата беа омаловажувани и понижувани.

Но, времето, како и секогаш, е најправеден судија. Се покажа дека осумте херои не ги положија своите животи залудно. Со својата жртва тие спречија дестабилизација на државата и конфликт што можеше да има несогледливи последици за мирот, безбедноста и стабилноста на Република Македонија и поширокиот регион. Беа спречени терористички напади и крвопролевања од големи размери. Без професионалниот ангажман и пожртвуваноста на Единицата за специјални задачи и Единицата за брзо распоредување, постоеше постојана и директна закана во наредните денови по улиците на повеќе градови низ Македонија да се лее крв на невини цивили. Благодарение на храброста и на одлучноста на нашите безбедносни сили беше избегнато светот и Македонија да се ужаснуваат од крвави сцени.

Времето е и најдобар учител. Сите ние треба да ја научиме лекцијата од Куманово што е многу скапо платена. А, тоа е дека поделбите и раздорот нè прават послаби и поранливи. Пожртвуваноста на нашите херои треба да биде предупредување до сите учесници во политичкиот живот на Македонија, но и фактор на обединување.

Крајно време е да го отфрлиме духот на поделбите, нетрпеливоста и омразата кон политичкиот противник и конечно да се помириме и да се сплотиме околу државниот интерес. Оттука, нивната жртва е влог кон иднината и помирувањето на Македонија.

Со овие медали за храброст ние нема да ги вратиме назад.
Нема да ги избришеме солзите на нивните родители, сопруги, деца...
Нема да ја исцелиме болката на нивните пријатели и другари.
Нема да ја вратиме радоста во нивните домови.
Но, со овој чин јасно покажуваме дека Љубиша Аранѓеловиќ, Бобан Ивановиќ, Горан Илијевски, Жарко Кузмановски, Исамедин Османи, Сашо Самојловски, Ненад Серафимовски и Горан Стојменовиќ не се заборавени. Нивната жртва не беше залудна. Напротив. Тие загинаа за нашите деца да имаат мирен сон, но и за побезбеден живот на нашите сограѓани, а со тоа и за заштита на националната безбедност на Република Македонија.

Ценети присутни,

На почетокот ја спомнав државната химна. Но, покрај државната, има и една друга химна, со различен текст и музика, но со иста порака и суштина. Во неа се вели:

„Македонија земјо моја најмила, секогаш и секаде ние први одиме.
За тебе живот даваме, Македонијо. Секогаш и секаде ние ќе се бориме."

Верувам дека сите вие многу добро ја знаете оваа химна на Единицата за брзо распоредување. Во неа е врежана цената на слободата што ја живееме. А таа цена секогаш и секаде ја плаќаат храбрите и посветени припадници на безбедносните сили. И кога ја чуваат границата, и кога го обезбедуваат јавниот ред и мир, без разлика дали живееме во период на хармонија или предизвици. Секогаш и секаде, чесно и професионално, тие се борат за Македонија и за македонските граѓани.

Како претседател на Република Македонија и врховен командант, овие медали ги доделувам како израз на благодарност на македонските граѓани кон нивните херои.

Ордените за воени заслуги за Единицата за специјални задачи и за Единицата за брзо распоредување, како и медалите за храброст за осумте херои ги доделувам бидејќи успеаја, и во најтешките моменти за нашата татковина, да го зачуваат јавниот ред и мир и да го одбранат државниот интерес.

Драги сограѓани,

Има нешто што на нашите безбедносни сили им дава истрајност во извршувањето на овие ризични, но благородни задачи. А, тоа е нивната верба во иднината на Република Македонија. Тоа е нивната надеж за подобро утре. Тоа е нивната длабока увереност дека со сè што прават, создаваат неопходни услови за благосостојба и напредок на сите македонски граѓани во слободно, демократско и праведно општество.

Затоа, ве повикувам сите, независно дали сте Македонци, Албанци, Турци, Власи, Срби, Роми, Бошњаци, христијани, муслимани, Евреи, атеисти..., да ги охрабриме и да ги поддржиме во нивната мисија, но и да ја споделиме нивната надеж и верба во Македонија. Верба дека Македонија има сила да ги надмине поделбите и одново да се издигне. Верба дека доаѓа нова генерација млади и посветени луѓе кои ќе работат за подобра иднина во Македонија. Со тоа, во вистинска смисла на зборот, ние ќе ја искажеме нашата благодарност кон хероите на Македонија.

Ви благодарам.

Distinguished citizens of the Republic of Macedonia,

Three days ago, I made a decision that was exclusively in the interest of the state and the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia. Following all the reactions, back then and now, I remain firmly convinced that this decision will help in overcoming the political crisis and reducing the tensions among political opponents.

I am aware of the responsibility I took upon myself.

I carefully followed and analyzed all reactions following my decision. I believe that the decision protects exclusively the state interest and I wish to inform you that I still stand behind it.

I would like to reiterate that anyone who believes that I have somehow deprived them of a certain right, or did not do any good, and wish to prove their innocence in the court of law, is hereby invited to submit a written request for annulment of the individual decision.

As soon as I receive such requests, I will call upon legal experts to offer a possible legal solution. Political parties are also welcome to join this process with their own legal experts.

Allow me to note that:

- Political parties and their supporters are taking advantage of institutions for confrontation.
- Courts are under pressure when dealing with cases.
- Security institutions have been paralyzed, with an undermined command system and there is a high risk of them not being able to respond to the threats we are facing.
- The Special Prosecutor's Office needs time for quality investigations.

I ask of the representatives of the international community included in the process to help in order for all parties to fully fulfill the obligations from the Przino Agreement, and the signatories of the agreement to implement the obligations assumed end enable free, fair, democratic and credible elections.

I encourage all holders of official functions who perform their duties in accordance with the Constitution and laws, judges, prosecutors, police officers and others, not to succumb to pressures and influences from anyone in terms of the performance of their duties. I encourage them to speak publicly about any such attempt and if they feel the need, to inform me personally.

I once again urge the representatives of the international community to be prudent in terms of behavior and activities and I wish to remind them that they might be misunderstood.

What the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia expect from political parties is their internal filtration and promotion of new faces on the political scene in the Republic of Macedonia.

The purpose of the decision is for it to serve as guarantee that until the day of elections, political parties and their supporters, the work of institutions and activity of the international community representatives, will not be abused and shall not influence the electoral process.

I expect that the elections called for June 5 will be an introduction to a new chapter for the Republic of Macedonia.

Thank you.

Dear citizens of the Republic of Macedonia,

For almost two years now, our country has been facing a deep political crisis. This is the deepest political crisis so far, that seems to be getting deeper every day. Not even the setting of elections is enough to guarantee that the crisis will soon end, regardless of how much we are all willing for it to happen.

In this period, I tried on several occasions to help, to get involved in the resolution of this crisis. However, one of the two confronted parties did not show any will or interest for my involvement and insisted that the talks be held exclusively under the auspices of the international factor in the country. Not having a choice, I accepted their decision, although I believe that it is not good for the country. When someone from outside resolves your internal problems, that does not speak well about yourself. And it is normal for those factors to be led above all by their own interests in that process of resolving or assisting. Still, things can only be taken, but not given by force. The mediation that I had offered was not accepted.

That was, however, not a reason for me to stop closely monitoring and analyzing the developments, which seemed to become worse with every single day. Somehow we reached the phase of dissolving the Assembly, but the biggest opposition party announced a boycott, which again, is not good for the country.

My analysis goes in the following directions:

1. What is happening to Macedonia is not our game. This is someone else's game.
It is illegal to intercept the communication of the entire state leadership, journalists, media, diplomats, and then all of this, in the form of fabricated material, to be placed in the hands of a single man, with a strong support for him to use it, as well as all the events that ensued, clearly demonstrates that someone else has been deeply involved in the creation of this crisis. In fact, Macedonia is not the first, and will probably not be the last state where such a thing is happening.

2. What is happening is not in anyone's interest here in Macedonia. It is in the interest of someone else.
This crisis did nothing for anyone in the country; nothing for the Government, or the opposition, no matter how high the expectations were. But this crisis made serious damage to Macedonia and all our citizens. It damaged the reputation of the country, it slowed down reforms and progress, it distorted the focus on our strategic aims for EU and NATO membership, it damaged our economy, deepened the divisions in every pore of our society, it radicalized political structures and started a process of destruction that could no longer be controlled or predicted by anyone. No one can convince me that this crisis is in the interest of the Republic of Macedonia.
This crisis is in someone else's interest. It is someone else's aim and interest. That someone wants to realize their own aim through the confronted politicians, political leaders and their supporters.

3. The developments in this past period resulted in an unprecedented political confrontation and a politics of mutual clashes and destruction. It resulted in endless retaliation, hatred and personal confrontation.
Take a look at what has happened to our politicians from both government and opposition. They have started such a confrontation, things became so personal and went so far, they opened so many criminal proceedings, that now all of them are ready and willing to use all possible means in order not to be defeated at the upcoming elections, because they no longer know what the opposite side is ready to do in terms of deepening their personal confrontation, retaliation, hatred and even xenophobia. Politics became a thing of who will start more criminal proceedings against whom, who will order more detentions and search warrants; who will manage to intimidate and set the other one up. Judges are facing enormous pressure from all sides. Representatives of the international community are walking around our courts while judges are making decisions on whether or not someone should be detained. Just a few days ago, a judge was taken to hospital because he collapsed during the process. All of this is becoming very hard to handle for many people, and resembles more and more a fight until death. I am afraid that the Republic of Macedonia may start resembling the geographical Macedonia from the beginning of the 20th century when antagonism between Macedonians went so far, that it resulted in mutual extermination through physical liquidations.

Let us be reminded that back then, that was also motivated by external factors.

4. The Assembly dissolved. The opposition announced their boycott of elections and creation of a liberation front. This means that they will try to prevent elections from happening. We have a technical government with restricted competencies. We are on the verge of a state of crisis. The situation has become so entangled that no one seems to be able to untangle it, not even party leaderships or representatives of the international community. The Przino Agreement and the dissolution of the Assembly did not relieve tensions – on the contrary, they only made them worse. If we leave this knot to untangle on its own, we might end up being hostages to a long term political crisis with an unpredictable end. The need of a peaceful election campaign and a peaceful election day is seriously put into question. If, on the other hand, that does not happen, the state and all its citizens will suffer long term consequences. I am afraid whether the citizens will be truly able to end this crisis at the upcoming elections.

5. Ahead of us are months and years when politicians, regardless of who is in power or opposition, will have to deal with serious and strategically important decisions for the state, the nation and identity, and I cannot allow for those who will be in government or opposition, to make decisions under the burden or personal pressure from the possibility of being wrongfully blackmailed or faced with a personal threat against their freedom, honor, reputation, future, or any kind of blackmail by an eternal or internal factor. It is perhaps with such an intention in mind that someone provoked this situation – in order to be able to influence them or maybe even control their decisions, of course above all in personal interest.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Out of these reasons and with an intention to contribute to the resolution of the crisis, relaxation of relations and decrease of tensions between the confronted political forces and their supporters, aware of the consequences on the state and citizens if something is not done in this crisis, aware of the consequences upon myself by taking such a step, but also with a strong belief that I am making a decision in the interest of the country and nation and its stability and independence, I decided to put an end to this agony of the Republic of Macedonia. Metaphorically speaking, I decided to cut the knot in accordance with all my constitutional and legal competences and this, through a Decision on the interruption of all proceedings against politicians and their supporters belonging to the confronted parties.

I made and signed the Decision today. And I stand behind it. The decision will enter into force immediately.

Dear citizens,

As regards this decision, I wish to inform you on several things.
- I was not led by individual affiliations to political options, but exclusively by state and national interests. Among those covered by the decision are many political supporters, but also opponents of mine. However, I did not consider my personal positions, but state interests.
- I did not inform any of those covered by the decision, nor did I announce it in any way or ask for any agreement for this action of mine. My assumption was that, if I did it, all of them, or most of them, convinced in their innocence and rightfulness, would have rejected this action and the agony in the country would have continued for years, along with all the negative consequences.
- I did not enter into analysis of whether someone is guilty or innocent. My starting position was the presumption of innocence. My assumption was that most of these people are not guilty of the deeds for which they have been subjected to criminal proceedings, although I cannot confirm that without a court decision. This is my opinion because it became clear that someone's aim is to involve politicians and those close to them in criminal procedures, fear and uncertainty, and then take advantage of such a situation in order to realize their own goals. However, the situation is such that, while we wait for them to prove their innocence, we might bring into question the future of the country. The Republic of Macedonia and its citizens have no time for that.
- Most of the proceedings will be interrupted in the phase of criminal charges, without an actual investigation or indictment or court hearings in place. I suppose that most of them would not have reached the phase of investigation or indictment. In some cases there has been an investigation or indictment, which again, does not imply that those people are guilty. Only one of the decisions is an amnesty for a person convicted with an effective court judgment, but having in mind that the procedure for all others involved in that case will be interrupted, I believed that it would be unjust for that person to be the only one serving a prison sentence, only because unlike the others in that case, the person acknowledged the deed and reached an agreement with the public prosecutor's office regarding the severity of the sanction.
- If I have offended anyone by this action, or of I have provoked unpleasant feelings in any way, I publicly apologize and I underline that I have no bad intentions towards anyone. I am taking this step only to preserve state and national interests above all.
- If I have missed someone and if I established that it is so in the forthcoming period, I will correct that. If I establish that someone is trying again and with similar actions, to entangle us in a similar scenario, I do not exclude the possibility of reacting in an identical manner once again.
- In the past period, the actions of certain institutions thought as being professional, had an element of political witch hunt and therefore, if I feel such a thing happening in the future, I will act accordingly and do the same I did today.
- I am convinced that with this decision, I am making an important step towards mutual reconciliation, and that this will help restore a normal political and democratic fight characteristic for all developed countries, based on a competition of ideas and results instead of mutual exhaustion and destruction, and especially not in function of someone else's interests. I am convinced that with this step I am also helping international mediators who have good and honest intentions as far as our country is concerned, above all in their efforts to consolidate the political crisis and moving the country towards further progress, reforms and realization of our strategic plans to become part of NATO and the EU.
- In the short term, there is a possibility of either parties, or all parties, to attack me or blame me about this step. It is possible that I am blamed with different conspiracy theories or other accusations on my account. I am ready to handle them all. When I accepted this function, I was aware that it would bring many unpleasant moments. However, I am certain to have made the right decision.

At the end, allow me to conclude: I cannot allow this happening to Macedonia during my term of office. Our generation must not allow this. Whatever is happening in Macedonia is everything but politics – this is a bigger game, in which Macedonians, but also all others, Albanians and others, and not only politicians, but also academicians, professors, doctors, intellectuals, businessmen – all of them under blackmail and hostages to this situation. The crisis will end when everyone stops being hostages of fear, personal vendetta, anger, hatred and divisions.

We need national reconciliation. We have had enough of seeing Macedonians going against Macedonians. I see this as a step in that direction.

This is the beginning of the end of this crisis and I wish it ends with fair and democratic elections by all standards; legitimized and recognized by international institutions. Thus reconciled, the country would be able to move forward, leaving behind these two dark years that the history will consider as a black mark on our generation.

I take this responsibility in full faith and aware of all possible future reactions by all sides, and I stand ready to defend this decision anywhere and in front of anyone.

Thank you.

Distinguished participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear friends,

The topic of this session is "Longing for a Cold War". I have to admit that the title surprised me. Can we talk about a Cold War in a time when there are so many open and hot conflicts around us?

Let me remind you that during the Cold War, there was order and stability maintained by balancing the fear between the two ideologically confronted parties.

In 1989, old regimes in Central and Eastern Europe fell together with the Berlin Wall. The end of the Cold War brought about the hope for a more peaceful, safe and better life. With the win of liberal democracy, Fukuyama's theory on the end of the history of ideas appeared.

However, euphoria was followed by a reality check. Triumphalism was short-lived and collapsed after only a decade. History repeated with all its force.

It is true that today, there are frosty relations between some of the key global actors. And it is true that part of the rhetoric used reminds us of the Cold War. However, it is not the same phenomenon because there are some substantial differences.

Distinguished participants,

During the bloc division, there were two key global state actors. Today, in our multipolar world, there are many more global actors, both state and non state.

If during the Cold War, the balance of fear used to contribute to some kind of stability, today, intimidation by non state actors such as transnational terrorism, violent extremism and organized crime introduce an even greater instability.

Instead of international order, today we have a global disorder. Instead of peace, stability, development, prosperity and justice for all that were expected after the end of the Cold War, the fear of others and xenophobia reappeared, and crisis areas in the Middle East, Northern Africa but also in Europe are once again inflamed.

We are witnessing the fact that chaos cannot be controlled and channeled. An example of this is the conflict in Syria that started as an ideological civil war, then morphed into an internal ethno-religious clash, and finally became a wider regional confrontation where global actors also got involved. At first glance, the situation is similar to what Hobbes once described as a war of all against all.

Instead of calming down, it might even be possible to witness an expansion of conflict areas and creation of a global strip of instability which might in turn provoke continuous migration waves. Those grey conflict zones are a fertile soil for the evil of transnational terrorism that installs fear, as well as for organized crime networks that make billions of dollars from trading with human destinies.

Therefore, if we speak about a new Cold War, it would mean that we are just slaves to images created for some other, long gone times. Something much greater is on the horizon. We are witnessing a process of fundamental transformation of international order into a world order, in which non-state actors will become more active. Apart from the confrontation between states or alliance of states, there is another one.

Distinguished participants,

If, a quarter century ago, we were able to discuss the Cold War as a clash of ideologies, today we can only talk about a clash of two paradigms, or two worlds.

Power in the 20th century was concentrated in the proactive centers of the global North. In the 21st century, global South rose up. The developed is paying the price of exclusion. Some communities and peoples from the third, non-developed world, who were excluded and marginalized in the past, are today at the top of the agendas of developed countries.

A new force awakens – global citizenship – global demos. This new force demands attention and respect for the opportunities it holds, in a world that is still suffering from the wounds inflicted by all dominations in the past centuries - imperial, colonial and finally, neo-colonial.

Opposite the concept of Lebensraum as the world of order, is what Habermas named Lebenswelt, the world of life.

Let me give you an illustration.

Only three weeks ago, on March 14, a serious incident happened at our southern border, near the village of Idomeni, when 2445 migrants illegally entered Macedonian territory. Among them were 74 journalists, activists, members of NGOs and volunteers from 5 continents. They not only helped the migrants cross the border, but they also directly broadcasted the entire event through world media and social networks, just like a reality show.

Idomeni was the place where the world of states and the world of non-state actors clashed. States establish and defend borders, and the world demands that those border be opened. This is why, just as Hobsbaum said, this is a time of extremes.

This is an illustration of massive global activism. With the help of social networks and media, non-state actors try to exercise pressure and influence state policies. Sometimes, with their activities, they enable greater visibility of the needs of people and provide a voice to the voiceless.

What is the idea that unites them? They are united by the idea of a world in which real life borders would disappear just like the borders in the virtual world.

Why am I saying all of this? Every age has its needs. In the Medieval times, it was the feudal system with servants. When social development went beyond the limits of feudal communities, the concept of nation state was created in Westphalia, with a view to answer the new needs.

We are living in times when the shape of nation state is too tight to realize the globalized needs of our societies - both positive and negative. The lack of functionality of current international organizations creates a need for functional global institutions and mechanisms that will create applicable global norms. The failure to build such functional institutions might take us back towards a new feudalism.

In this sense, this is a possibility to discover the contours of an emerging world. Just like in Ancient times, the polis transformed into a cosmopolis, today, the order of states is transformed into an order of the world.

Thank you.