Analysis of Macedonian diplomacy, Callings from Georgia and Ukraine on the situation with the protests and the war.
The first guest in this edition of Labyrinth is the former Ambassador of Macedonia to Sweden and Romania, Tihomir Ilievski. We talked about the oath taken by the new President and the reactions it caused among our neighbors. Despite the reactions and difficulties in bilateral relations, the diplomat is still optimistic about the European integration of Macedonia, as well as about the normalization of relations in the entire Balkans.
In Georgia, massive civil protests are taking place over the law on "foreign agents" which moves the country away from the European path, but also seriously threatens the livelihood and freedom of Georgian citizens. From Tbilisi, we were joined by Ekaterine Basilaia - director of the Center for Media and Social Research of Georgia, who explained in more detail what this law is and why so many people took to the streets. We discussed the use of excessive force by the police in arresting peaceful protesters and the legal fight to protect those detained.
In Labyrinth, we also included the volunteer in the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces, Volodymyr Sapekhin. Volodymyr has been going to the fronts and back for more than two years. We talked about the current situation on the fronts, about the progress of Russian forces in the Kharkiv region, but also about his personal feelings about the two realities he lives in.
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Dimitrova: Everyone supported Zaharieva's candidacy for EC
A conversation with the journalist Dimitrova about the situation in Bulgaria and the Macedonian issue.
Bulgaria is facing the seventh parliamentary elections and has been in a political crisis for three years due to the inability to elect a stable government. In the pre-election, Macedonia is even more part of the rhetoric of the political contenders and it seems as if that is the only point on which they agree.
The guest in this edition of Labyrinth is the journalist Tonya Dimitrova from the National Service, with whom we talked not only about the elections, but also about the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights that Bulgaria does not want to implement, the constitutional amendments that they require from us, as well as about the problems that Zaharieva has in her political career towards European institutions.
Watch the full episode.
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Trump Takes Office – Optimism for Lasting Peace grows in Gaza
Reports from the US and Gaza
Donald Trump officially takes office as President of the US. The inauguration ended with the sensational signing of numerous decisions that have international implications. One of them is the withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement. From the US, we include reporter Jallysa Dugrot with an analysis of Trump's inauguration day.
In Gaza, meanwhile, the ceasefire is being celebrated and hopes for a lasting peace are growing. Humanitarian aid has begun to arrive in the strip, and the first hostages have already been exchanged. The second exchange is expected to take place this weekend. Journalist Rakan Abed El Rahman joins us from central Gaza, with whom we discuss the situation there after the long-sought ceasefire.
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France with a challenge to form a Government - NATO with new Declarations
Reporting from Washington and Analysis from Paris
The largest military alliance marked the 75th anniversary of its existence with a Summit whose focus is the war on European soil. The leaders of the member states gathered in the American capital to confirm the commitment to help Ukraine. Some of them used the margins of the Summit for meetings related to bilateral issues. A meeting between the Macedonian and Greek Prime Ministers did not take place, and journalists behind the scenes say that there was no interest on the part of the major powers to discuss such issues within the framework of the Summit. From the press room in Washington, we include Romanian military reporter and senior political correspondent Cristina Cileacu. In addition to the fact that the Alliance confirmed the commitments to help Ukraine, Cileacu also informed us about the other agreed strategic determinations, such as declaring China a country enabling Russian aggression. We asked Chileaku tofollow up the meetings of the Macedonian Prime Minister.
From the French capital, on the other hand, we are talking with an advisor in the French Assembly on topics related to the great upheaval that occurred during the elections. Councilor Matthias Vasquez from the ranks of Macron's party talks about the mood of the voters and the actions of the parties that led to this turn. At the moment, the main challenge facing France is the election of a prime minister, which the winning coalition seems to be having difficulty electing. Vasquez is a good expert on the Macedonian and Balkan situations, given the fact that he was previously on missions in these countries, so we used this call to ask him for his opinion on the French proposal that was imposed after the Bulgarian veto announcements.
Watch the entire show.
