Macedonia welcomes US Defence Secretary Mattis with the highest state honors

US Defence Secretary James Mattis arrived at the Skopje International Airport early Monday.

Defence Minister Radmila Sekerinska welcomed Mattis at the airport after which he left for a meeting with Prime Minister Zoran Zaev. The meeting is to be followed by a joint press conference.

Earlier this week Mattis announced his plan to travel to Macedonia to express the US support for the upcoming referendum on the name agreement, but also to ‘make very clear’ that Washington stands against Russian aggression as the nation considers its invitation to join NATO.

“I’m going to go out and see our Macedonian friends on a rather swift journey over there and back,’ Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon. ‘I’m going there to make very clear we stand with the Macedonian people.’

Mattis said that he is concerned that Russia could try to meddle in referendum process in Macedonia.

“If you have a vote, Moscow will meddle. I’m worried about that. Russia has practiced such meddling from Estonia to the United States, from Ukraine and now to Macedonia, always adapting to the concrete situation,” he said.