March 2 (SeeNews) - US ambassador to Macedonia Jeff Baily urged Macedonia's president Gjorge Ivanov on Thursday to reconsider his refusal to give a mandate for forming the country's next government to main opposition leader Zoran Zaev.
Despite the proof of parliamentary majority which the leader of the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) Zoran Zaev had presented, Ivanov on Wednesday refused to award him the mandate for forming Macedonia's new government over concerns that SDSM's agreement with ethnic Albanian parties threatened the country's sovereignty.
"We believe that this was inconsistent with basic democratic principles and the rule of law, which are core values of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization," Jeff Baily said in a statement published on the Facebook page of the US Embassy in Macedonia. "The United States was disappointed to learn yesterday that President Ivanov declined to offer to representatives having a clear Parliamentary majority the opportunity to form a new government."
The ambassador called upon neighbour states to exercise restraint and be constructive at these moments of political tension.
Earlier this week Zaev, whose party came in second in the December early election, secured a parliamentary majority to form a government after reaching an agreement with the ethnic Albanian parties on key issues regarding the governance of Macedonia, including the use of the Albanian language. The deal came after the election winners, conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, failed to agree with ethnic Albanian party DUI on forging a government coalition.