The discussion was heated. "What are you going to do, who will protect your borders? You have no army, you have no foreign reserves, you have no currency, where are you going, how will you survive?" In the state mansion in Ohrid, Slobodan Milošević angrily scolds Kiro Gligorov for the decision of Skopje to follow the path of Slovenia and Croatia, namely to secede.

On December 27, 1991, he received a phone call from Milošević, who requested to meet in Ohrid to discuss "the relations and future of the region." He went, taking with him Vasili Topurkovski, a close associate, a young rising star of Yugoslav politics, fluent in English and a representative until the independence of the Republic of Macedonia, in the collective presidency of united Yugoslavia.

"Milošević came accompanied by the then president of the federation, Borislav Jović, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vladan Živanović," recounts Topurkovski. "The atmosphere was heavy. The Serbs openly stated that they were disappointed, they did not believe that we Macedonians would break away and form our own state. Jović spoke first, warning us that if we did not join a confederation of four (Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Macedonia) – a solution promoted by the Serbian side – a terrible war would break out in Bosnia."

But we had conducted the referendum for independence and I reminded them of that, while Gligorov emphasized that the Serbs must understand the right of the Macedonian people to have their own state,” Topurkovski told me.

"And how will you deal with the Greeks and the Bulgarians, don't forget that there are Macedonians in those countries too," Milošević interjected at one point, and Gligorov responded that changing borders or creating a Greater Macedonia isn't in our plans, and so on. The conversation was tense, Milošević was furious. We were afraid of the reaction of the Serbs, who maintained an entire army in Macedonia and had a small minority there..."

That evening, Želef dined with Yeltsin at the "Lozenets" residence. Boris Nikolayevich continued drinking vodka despite his wife Nina's pleas for him to eat something. Yeltsin showed that he had not forgotten what Želef had done and asked him if he wanted to do something for him. "Recognize Macedonia," was the immediate reply from the leader of our state. Yeltsin agreed and instructed Foreign Minister Kozyrev to draft the decree.

Kozyrev tried to explain that this act would infuriate the Greeks, but Yeltsin insisted. Then Kozyrev played his last card – the state seal was on the presidential plane. Boris Nikolayevich turned to Želef and reassured him: Tomorrow morning at the airport we will hold a press conference, I will announce that Russia recognizes Macedonia and I will send the decree from the plane as soon as it takes off. And so it happened – 10 minutes after boarding the plane bound for Moscow, Yeltsin signed the recognition of the Republic of Macedonia by the Russian Federation with the unchangeable name of our neighboring country." Thus, after Bulgaria and Turkey, Russia became the third country to recognize Skopje as the "Republic of Macedonia."