Macedonia can do very well without NATO, which is a reminder of the Cold War, says the Washington-based analyst Umberto Pascali in an interview with Macedonian television's show "Porta".
Commenting the PM Nikola Gruevski's criticism towards NATO members, Pascali says it is of essential importance to tell the truth. "Trust and respect was demonstrated by a political leader representing his own people. Too many leaders do the opposite. Something substantial is being changed in Macedonia," says the analyst.
The criticism of "arrogant NATO masters denouncing their hypocrisy and threat" comes after a recent visit of a Macedonian government delegation to China, where economic cooperation has been established with one of world's economic giants.
"China is part of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Half of world's population lives in BRICS countries. It is a huge functional, strategic, economic and financial power. It is seen as a true alternative for Wall Street, the system of wars, threats, blackmail and usury. This system is in the core of all crises ruining the world. Macedonia can become a center of China's economic activities in Europe. Pretty soon, we could see long-term investments in the real economy, such as construction of corridors that would remodel Macedonia forever, instead of destructive speculation," Pascali stresses.
Asked whether Macedonia is threatened by an "Arab Spring", Pascali says that "these phenomena are not real revolutions, they are a violent attack from foreign forces against a nation and state's institutions."
"I think that Macedonia cannot be destabilised from the inside. It would be another issue if inner forces are manipulated, abused from the outside" Pascali notes adding that "the role of the fifth column could be played by the opposition."
He deems that Macedonia, its institutions and people are strong enough to defeat such an attempt. "Understandably, the best guarantee against these surrogate forms of conflict is economic development and a possibility for a decent future," Umberto Pascali concludes.
