Out of who-knows-what-reasons, “someone” decided to invite the Russian Ambassador Oleg Shcherbak to the Faculty of Security. The topic: “Collective security systems: historical and current views from the prism of the Russian Federation”, as it is written on the Faculty’s website a week after the event. The announcement states that a meeting was held, whereas in the title it says that a lecture was held. What was it? Nevertheless, it is not important now.
Shcherbak’s speech or “lecture”, parts of which were published by the state information agency MIA, was no surprise at all, but it does clearly show that the Russian diplomacy has torn the ropes of all the brakes. Shcherbak is at the head of a diplomatic mission, whose member was expelled from Macedonia due to espionage, a diplomat who, like his boss, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, has been rudely threatening for some time now.
And with his appearance at the Faculty of Security, not in Russia, but in Macedonia (!), Shcherbak is clearly showing that the Russians have no intention of giving up interference in the internal security affairs of the country. He is obscenely going on with “lectures” on how it should be decided in terms of the integration issues of Macedonia.
The Russian diplomat’s position is that NATO is a military-political bloc that the US is creating with the aim to confront the Warsaw Pact, which does not exist for 30 years now, so he says: “You know well that when solidarity is placed over common sense, that it is fatal for national interests”, What does he want to say with this awkward thought anyway? That if we are not with Russia, we will have our work cut out for us, it will be dire?
And then he continues with the threats: “The consequences of this are known to Ukraine, which was put under such an ultimatum that it caused discord and civil war. Unfortunately, our Western partners learned nothing from this…The Russian Federation cannot be unconcerned about NATO’s military doctrine, in which Russia is declared as hostile. That is a very dangerous game and we wouldn’t want for them to drag Macedonia into this adventure. For the Macedonian people to be used as cannon fodder and its territory as a NATO base…”
With this, he is almost openly threatening with military force, just like the Russian occupying boot is trampling on Ukrainian soil, because the Ukrainians decided to put an end to the pro-Russian vassalage.
In the middle of Macedonia, nowhere else but here, at the Faculty of Security (!), at a time when Macedonia is strengthening its international position with seven-mile steps and “has returned to the real path” (Federica Mogherini), Shcherbak has openly threatened Macedonia, its sovereignty and security.
And as the Faculty of Security gave this Bakjushka, based on unknown basis (and yet we do know), institutional space and time, the Macedonian media published his threats in an orderly (read: obedient) manner and without any objection.
Is the Russian ambassador that powerful in the country? Is his network that much infiltrated in the institutions and the media in Macedonia? It is unacceptable that no one tried (or did not dare, perhaps?) to even ask how it ended up for Shcherbak to hold a speech to the future security experts with an open anti-western content and to threaten.
Can an ambassador of any which country sit at the Russian Faculty of Security in Moscow and wave with black propaganda and threaten?
Another disturbing question in this Russian tale… When they expelled the unnamed Russian diplomat from Macedonia, Lavrov stated that “when one or two diplomats are being expelled from this or that country, all the while whispering apologies in our ear, we know for sure that this is a result of colossal pressure and colossal blackmail, which unfortunately is Washington’s main tool now in the international arena”.
Who was whispering apologies to Lavrov?! There has to be an answer to this question. Because if we do not receive an answer to this question as well, it seems that we have dual or multiple diplomacy in the country.
There is only one answer to the threats and propaganda:
Shcherbak, GO HOME! Иди домой!
(in case he doesn’t understand English)
The article represents the personal opinion of the Author.
