The Speaker of Parliament, Afrim Gashi, is in Riyadh today, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The delegation includes Nikola Micevski, coordinator for VMRO-DPMNE, Oliver Spasovski, coordinator for SDSM, and Adnan Azizi, deputy coordinator for Vlen. The ruling majority and the opposition, on the same trip.

The delegation will meet its "counterpart", Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Sheikh, Speaker of the Consultative Council (Shura), as well as MPs and members of the Friendship Group. It will also attend a plenary session of the Shura Council.

The word "counterpart" is carrying more weight here than it looks. Macedonia's Parliament is elected by citizens. Members of the Shura are appointed by the king, and the council has an advisory role in an absolute monarchy. That doesn't mean there should be no talks - diplomacy is also conducted with countries that look nothing like us.

But when the Speaker takes the coordinators of three parties on a trip, citizens have a right to know what it's for: what's on the table, what they expect to agree on, and who's paying for the visit. The press release about the visit answers none of those questions.