Russia suspends intergovernmental commission with North Macedonia over EU-aligned sanctions
Ambassador Dmitry Zykov says trade turnover plunged by three times since 2022, with Russian exports dropping fivefold
En resumen
- Russia's Ambassador to North Macedonia Dmitry Zykov says the Russian-Macedonian intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation cannot resume due to Skopje's unfriendly steps.
- North Macedonia has supported all EU restrictive measures against Russia since 2022, causing mutual trade to plunge by three times and Russian exports to drop fivefold.
- Russia responded by adding North Macedonia to the list of unfriendly countries and suspending the commission's activities.
Resumen generado por IA
Por qué importa
The Russian-Macedonian intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation was established to facilitate bilateral trade and scientific cooperation. The commission held its ninth meeting in November 2019 and the co-chairs met in June 2021 before activities were suspended.
MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. Unfriendly steps taken by Skopje do not allow resuming the activity of the Russian-Macedonian intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation, new Russian Ambassador to North Macedonia Dmitry Zykov told TASS in his first interview. North Macedonia has sided with all the EU restrictive measures against Russia since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, which affected mutual trade, Zykov said. "Starting from 2022, when the trade turnover totaled $495 mln, foreign trade between the countries plunged by three times, including the fivefold dip of Russian exports," the Ambassador noted. "Russia, in response to actions of the Macedonian side, included North Macedonia into the list of unfriendly countries and suspended its participation in the Russian-Macedonian intergovernmental commission on trade-economic and scientific-technical cooperation, with its last ninth meeting held in November 2019 and the meeting of co-chairs - in June 2021," Zykov said. "Obviously, the resumption of commission's activities does not appear possible under the recent level of relations between the countries," he added.
Preguntas abiertas
- What specific EU sanctions has North Macedonia implemented against Russia?
- Are there any ongoing negotiations to restore trade relations?
- What is the current state of Russian investment in North Macedonia?
