No: 149, 11 May 2015

We are deeply saddened about the loss of lives of eight police officers and injury of approximately forty police officers in the clashes between gunmen, reported to be affiliated with a group which perpetrated a raid on a police station in Gosnice village of Lipkovo Municipality of the Republic of Macedonia on 21 April 2015, and the police forces on 9-10 May 2015 in Kumanovo.

Turkey is opposed to and strongly condemns all kinds of acts of violence and terrorism without exception.

Moreover, Turkey hopes that the political tensions which have been ongoing in the Republic of Macedonia for a certain period of time would be resolved through democratic means within the principle of rule of law, and dialogue, and the domestic peace and inter-ethnic balance achieved through the Ohrid Framework Agreement in 2001 will not be damaged.

In this context, we believe that the citizens of Macedonia including those of Turkish origin and all political parties and civil society organizations will act with common sense respecting law and democratic principles and will not allow such attempts to ruin domestic peace and serenity.

On this occasion, we would like to emphasize once again that Turkey will maintain its strong support to the territorial integrity, political unity and to the Euro-Atlantic orientation of the Republic of Macedonia with which Turkey enjoys deep-rooted friendship and brotherly relations.