Macedonia's Cabinet is to discuss Tuesday whether Skopje should switch ties from Taipei to Beijing, Macedonian government spokesman Antonio Miloshoski said yesterday.
"Some of the members of the Cabinet at the next government session [meeting], which means next Tuesday, will request discussion of this matter," Miloshoski told the Taipei Times in a telephone interview yesterday.
"I can't foresee what the decision will be. It is a difficult situation," Miloshoski said.
"Now the situation is very difficult because we have a wider coalition [government]. And in this wider coalition, not all members agree with our relations with Taiwan. So it will be very difficult to stay in one clear position," he said.
As part of its effort to quell the conflict between ethnic Albanian guerrillas and government forces that began in February, Skopje saw its latest government reshuffle on May 13, with a total of seven parties forming a national unity government.
When contacted by the Taipei Times yesterday, Zoran Jolevski, the director of Macedonia's presidential office, who was in China last week for discussions on re-establishing ties between Skopje and Beijing, refused to reveal any information about his trip to China.
"I don't consider this issue to be for public consumption. It's an internal matter. It's not for the public," Jolevski said.
But Jolevski also suggested that next week could be a critical one for ties between Taipei and Skopje, saying: "I don't want to make any comment now. Maybe next week."
Katharine Chang (張小月), a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, denied allegations that Taiwan was to offer a new aid program, called a "peace fund," to help reconstruction of the war-threatened Balkan state and to help to secure ties between the two sides.
"This is just a draft proposal presented by a minority of people within the International Cooperation and Development Fund, and it has nothing to do with the ministry, nor would the ministry agree to it. And this proposal has never been presented to the Macedonian side," Chang told the Taipei Times.
"Not a single penny, nor any new aid program will be offered" to secure ties with Macedonia, Chang said.
Chang also expressed "dissatisfaction" and "pity" over the statement by Macedonia's Foreign Minister Illinka Mitreva on Thursday, over her refusal to meet her counterpart from Taiwan, Tien Hung-mao (田弘茂), who is currently in Macedonia attempting to shore up bilateral ties.
"Taiwan will safeguard its dignity and national pride" in the process of securing relations with Macedonia, Chang said.
Tien cut short a Latin American trip to fly to Macedonia on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to rescue diplomatic ties. He met Macedonia's Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski later on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a senior government official in Skopje told AFP yesterday that Macedonia is to break diplomatic links with Taiwan within two weeks.
"Macedonia will break off relations with the Republic of China, Taiwan, if not at the next government meeting then within two weeks," the official, who requested anonymity, was quoted as saying. "The Taiwan question will then be closed."
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