Macedonia has officially requested the extradition of former Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski from Hungary, the country's government said in a press release in Skopje on Tuesday.

“We expect the authorities in Budapest to unconditionally accept the extradition request and enable the return of Gruevski to Macedonia to serve his prison sentence and answer for the other things he has been charged with,” the press release said.  

Gruevski served as Prime Minister of Macedonia from 2006 to 2016, and in May this year he was sentenced to two years in prison by a Macedonian court for illegally buying a luxury Mercedes car worth €600,000 during his term in office. His passport was seized in 2017.

Macedonian police had issued a warrant for his arrest earlier this month.

Official Skopje sent the Hungarian government a protest note over the role that country’s embassies played in Gruevski’s escape from Macedonia.

The Office of the Hungarian Prime Minister confirmed for N1 last week that Gruevski has submitted an asylum request to authorities in Hungary.

The press release said that Gruevski was never persecuted politically and reported no threats against him, adding that he had a police protection detail which he is entitled to as former prime minister.  

Gruevski was sentenced in a public and transparent trial and there are several more court proceedings and investigations against him, the government said.