Macedonia formally demands return of fugitive ex-premier

SKOPJE, Macedonia – Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry has summoned Hungary’s ambassador to formally demand that the government in Budapest reject an asylum application by fugitive former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

The 48-year-old politician fled Macedonia and travelled to the Hungarian capital last week after police tried to arrest him to serve a two-year prison sentence for corruption. Gruevski is a close political ally of right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, but the Hungarian government says it didn’t assist in his trip.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement Monday that the Hungarian government had been urged to “act in the spirit of good bilateral relations and European values” to ensure the return of Gruevski.