Vuçiq attacks Afrim Gashi and Bekim Sali after the curtailment of Serbian influence in North Macedonia

Serbian President Aleksandar Vuçiq has reacted sharply to statements by First Deputy Prime Minister Bekim Sali and Assembly Speaker Afrim Gashi regarding the Special Court’s verdict against former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders. The reaction comes at a time when North Macedonia has changed its political direction.

For many years, the “Open Balkan” initiative was one of the region’s main political projects. The initiative was also strongly supported by the then-political closeness between Ali Ahmeti and Edi Rama, while Serbia, led by Aleksandar Vuçiq, sought to expand its economic and political influence in the region.

The emergence of a new political course brought a break with this approach. Afrim Gashi and Bekim Sali are among the figures who have influenced the change in North Macedonia’s political orientation, steering the country more decisively toward the European and Euro-Atlantic agenda.

The suspension of the “Open Balkan” project, together with the change in policy toward regional developments, represents a significant turning point compared with the previous period.

Against this backdrop, Vuçiq’s recent statements about Gashi and Sali are also linked to the change in the political direction in Skopje. The Serbian president’s direct reaction was prompted by their clear positions regarding Kosovo, the Kosovo Liberation Army and the Special Court’s verdict.

Skopje’s new political orientation, the end of “Open Balkan” and the strengthening of the European path have created new political circumstances in North Macedonia.

For this reason, Vuçiq’s reaction against Afrim Gashi and Bekim Sali is seen as a clash with the new political approach, through which North Macedonia is moving away from previous forms of regional cooperation and drawing closer to the European agenda. /InfoShqip.com