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SZIJJÁRTÓ: GRUEVSKI CROSSED BORDER LEGALLY

Nikola Gruevski, the former Macedonian prime minister, had to cross three borders in order to enter Hungary, Péter Szijjártó, the foreign minister, said. "In all three cases he did so lawfully," he said.
 

Szijjártó insisted that Gruevski handed over his travel documents and the authorities checked them in every instance. The minister dismissed reports that Hungarian diplomats had helped to “smuggle” Gruevski out of Macedonia. Diplomats first encountered Gruevski at the Hungarian embassy in Tirana, and were then informed about his application for asylum, he said.
Answering a question, Szijjártó said he was unaware of whether Gruevski’s exit from Macedonia had been the result of a domestic political backroom deal. “Dialogue with Macedonia is ongoing,” he said, adding he was in contact with his Macedonian counterpart as was Hungary’s interior minister.
Szijjártó said he would next meet his counterpart in early December at a NATO meeting of foreign ministers. Szijjártó said it was not the first time that asylum had been sought by government members of other countries and granted. He added that his ministry had nothing to do with the matter, since the decision on Gruevski did not fall within the scope of its authority.
Gruevski said on Tuesday that he had been granted asylum in Hungary.