Zoran Zaev, North Macedonia’s Prime Minister, said on Wednesday there was no way his country would join the Euro-Asian Economic Union (EAEU), adding the European Union was the only option for Skopje, the Beta news agency reported.

Local media in the country reported that the Russian representative in the EU Vladimir Chizhov said Albania and North Macedonia were invited to join the EAEU led by Moscow after the European Council (EUCO) failed to set a date for the opening of the accession negotiations with the two countries.

“There is no such invitation. No way we will join the EAEU, and I hope we won’t even be invited,” Zaev told a news conference.

Macedonians go to the polls in April, in an early vote following the EUCO decision not to start the accession process with Skopje due to the opposition of the French President Emmanuel Macron.