BELGRADE, Serbia

North Macedonia's foreign minister on Thursday praised his country’s longstanding good relations with Turkey.  

"Since the declaration of our independence in 1991, we have always had a friend with us when we didn't have many friends. That friend is Turkey," Nikola Dimitrov told a working lunch organized by Turkey's Embassy in the capital Skopje.  

Pointing to the importance of relations with Turkey, Dimitrov cited a meeting he had with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in the capital Ankara.

"At a press conference, I said something that I can’t say for any other country. On the matter of bilateral relations, I used the word 'romantic',” he recalled.

“This is not an ordinary word in intergovernmental relations. But in the context of common history and cultural similarities, we really have a relationship that transcends existing politics and political parties."

Macedonia's international recognition was finalized in April 1993, when the country was unanimously adopted as a member of the UN General Assembly, but was admitted as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) due to pressure by Greece.  

Turkey has long recognized the country, now known as the Republic of North Macedonia.  

* Writing by Talha Ozturk