Macedonia now ‘at risk from Russian meddling’

MACEDONIA: The tiny Balkan republic of Macedonia risks becoming a new battleground between Russia and the West after a week of violence during which a mob including pro-Moscow nationalists stormed parliament, injuring dozens of MPs.

Serbia and other neighbouring countries deployed troops amid fears that the violence would spill over their borders as Nato, EU and US officials condemned the assault and pleaded for calm.

Western policy makers are concerned that a potential escalation in Macedonia could reignite ethnic tensions that have been simmering in the region since the bloody ethnic wars of the 1990s that were ended by an Americanled military intervention.

European officials have also expressed ‘‘serious concerns’’ about Russian involvement in the crisis, after the Kremlin sided with the nationalists of the centre-right VMRO-DPMNE, who have been clinging to power since narrowly losing December’s election. Party officials have tried to downplay the extent of their links with Moscow. More than a dozen opposition MPs were seriously injured during Friday’s assault, which was carried out by thugs in black balaclavas allegedly loyal to the government.

Among those hurt was Zoran Zaev, leader of the left-leaning SDSM party, who is vying to be the next prime minister.

The violence was prompted by the election of Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian, as parliamentary speaker.

Part of his role would be formally to petition the president, Gjorge Ivanov, to grant Zaev the mandate to form a government something Ivanov, who is close to the nationalists, has hitherto refused to do.

Zaev, his face and torso drenched in blood from a head injury, was rescued by special police who did not arrive until two hours into the attack, prompting accusations that the authorities deliberately left the normally heavily secured parliament building defenceless.

‘‘This madness was orchestrated by politicians who are unwilling to relinquish power they co-ordinated the assailants and removed parliamentary security to let the mob in ... this was a premeditated murder attempt,’’ Zaev said.

Zaev, who received stitches for two head wounds following the attack, also claimed to have evidence of Russian links to the governing party, in what he called Moscow’s ‘‘push to gain influence’’ over Macedonia, a country of 2m people that is a candidate for membership of the EU and of Nato. Sunday Times