MOSCOW, March 2./TASS/. Moscow is urging the West to stop interfering in the domestic affairs of Macedonia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

"By manipulating the Albanian minority, the West is trying to restore the defeated opposition back into power in Skopje, who put their signatures on the Albanians’ ultimatums which led to the break-up of the country’s constitutional foundations," the statement reads. "The ongoing destructive attempts from outside the country to impose schemes that are at variance with the will of Macedonian voters, can only worsen the situation," it said.

"It is necessary to stop foreign interference into Macedonia’s internal affairs, respect the rights of Macedonian citizens to independently shape their future based on the founding democratic principles," the ministry said.