Ex-Macedonia PM Gruevski says he has been granted asylum in Hungary
By Krisztina Than and Kole Casule BUDAPEST/SKOPJE (Reuters) - Former Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski, who fled abroad after being sentenced to two years in prison on corruption-related charges, said on Tuesday that he had been granted political asylum in Hungary. Macedonian police had issued an arrest warrant for Gruevski, who resigned in 2016 after a decade in power, after he failed to show up to begin his sentence, following a Nov.
By Krisztina Than and Kole Casule
BUDAPEST/SKOPJE (Reuters) - Former Macedonian prime minister Nikola Gruevski, who fled abroad after being sentenced to two years in prison on corruption-related charges, said on Tuesday that he had been granted political asylum in Hungary.
Macedonian police had issued an arrest warrant for Gruevski, who resigned in 2016 after a decade in power, after he failed to show up to begin his sentence, following a Nov. 9 court ruling against his motion for a reprieve.
"Today the Republic of Hungary, an EU and NATO member state, responded positively to my previously submitted request to obtain political asylum due to political persecution in the Republic of Macedonia," Gruevski wrote on his Facebook page.
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said in a reply to Reuters questions that Gruevski was convicted of misuse of office by Macedonian courts after a "thorough and transparent legal process".
"In addition, Mr. Gruevski is indicted in four pending criminal cases. We believe it is appropriate for the Macedonian legal process to proceed and for Mr. Gruevski to be held accountable within the Macedonian justice system," the spokesperson added.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Idok reported without naming its sources that the Hungarian Immigration and Asylum Office had established that the legal conditions to give Gruevski asylum had been met.
Officials at the immigration agency were unavailable for comment. A government spokesman said Hungary "has been in compliance with the...rules"rel=nofollow with respect to Gruevski's case, without elaborating.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban supported the fellow right-wing nationalist Gruevski in the run-up to Macedonia's 2017 election and praised his party's efforts to halt migrants passing through the Balkans to western Europe.
Orban's office earlier said it considered Gruevski's asylum request to be "solely a legal issue" to be handled by the competent authority.
The Macedonian Justice Ministry said it would send to Budapest a request for Gruevski's extradition.
"The government expects that the authorities in Budapest will unconditionally accept the request for extradition and in accordance with international law, as a member state of NATO and the EU, will facilitate the return of Gruevski to Macedonia," the government in Skopje said in a statement.
(Reporting by Gergely Szakacs, Krisztina Than in Budapest and Kole Casule in Skopje, Editing by Mark Heinrich, William Maclean)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
also read
France, Germany to agree to NATO role against Islamic State - sources | Reuters
By Robin Emmott and John Irish | BRUSSELS/PARIS BRUSSELS/PARIS France and Germany will agree to a U.S. plan for NATO to take a bigger role in the fight against Islamic militants at a meeting with President Donald Trump on Thursday, but insist the move is purely symbolic, four senior European diplomats said.The decision to allow the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to join the coalition against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq follows weeks of pressure on the two allies, who are wary of NATO confronting Russia in Syria and of alienating Arab countries who see NATO as pushing a pro-Western agenda."NATO as an institution will join the coalition," said one senior diplomat involved in the discussions. "The question is whether this just a symbolic gesture to the United States
China's Xi says navy should become world class | Reuters
BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for greater efforts to make the country's navy a world class one, strong in operations on, below and above the surface, as it steps up its ability to project power far from its shores.China's navy has taken an increasingly prominent role in recent months, with a rising star admiral taking command, its first aircraft carrier sailing around self-ruled Taiwan and a new aircraft carrier launched last month.With President Donald Trump promising a US shipbuilding spree and unnerving Beijing with his unpredictable approach on hot button issues including Taiwan and the South and East China Seas, China is pushing to narrow the gap with the U.S. Navy.Inspecting navy headquarters, Xi said the navy should "aim for the top ranks in the world", the Defence Ministry said in a statement about his visit."Building a strong and modern navy is an important mark of a top ranking global military," the ministry paraphrased Xi as saying.