​Serbia detains North Macedonian diplomat on Armenia’s request

The law enforcement bodies of Serbia have detained North Macedonian diplomat Mile Milenkovski on the basis of an international arrest warrant issued by Armenia, North Macedonian Alsat TV reports.

The detention took place on August 27 as Milenkovski was crossing the border point “Presevo” to enter the territory of North Macedonia. However, the news was confirmed by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, September 3.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia confirms that an employee of the Ministry, who is currently assigned to our OSCE Mission to Vienna, was detained in the Republic of Serbia on 27.08.2021. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia has officially has reported this to the Embassy of North Macedonia in Belgrade. According to the report, the competent court in Serbia has ordered extradition detention on the basis of an international arrest warrant for a crime he is accused of having committed during his private trip abroad,” the Foreign Ministry stated.

According to the TV channel, the Serbian authorities acted in accordance with the request of the Armenian side, which is investigating the case, in which Milenkovsky is one of the defendants.

At the same time, the diplomat is a relative of the former head of the country’s national counterintelligence Sasho Mijalkov, who is currently serving a prison term for abuse of office.

According to Armenian law enforcement agencies, in 2018, three diplomats from North Macedonia, led by Milenkovski, helped a former Armenian government official flee the country on a private jet.