The First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for European Affairs, Bekim Sali, stepped off the train at Kyiv's railway station on the day Ukraine celebrates its statehood. On the platform he was met by Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister, Oleksandr Mishchenko, and Macedonian ambassador Dimitar Blaževski. The occasion - the Ukraine - Southeast Europe Summit, where Macedonia sits among the countries extending a hand to Kyiv.

According to a statement from the minister's cabinet, Sali's participation is a confirmation of Macedonia's continued support for Ukraine - for its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, as well as for its European perspective. At the plenary session, it is announced, Sali will reaffirm our country's readiness to keep up that support.

But one part of the announcement is worth reading twice. Sali, so it's said, will share the experience and expertise Macedonia has gained in the process of European integration. And this is where the story takes on its bitter tinge. A country that has spent decades waiting on the Union's doorstep, that has been through Prespa, veto after veto and postponement after postponement, is now off to teach Kyiv how the road is walked.

The irony isn't in Sali, nor in Macedonia - it's in the process itself. Our „experience in European integration" is an experience of waiting, not of joining. If there is anything to share with Ukraine, it might be the most important lesson of all: that reforms and commitment are sometimes not enough if, on the other side of the table, the political will is missing. That's a lesson we've paid for dearly.

The summit brings together leaders and senior representatives from Ukraine and the countries of Southeast Europe, with a focus on regional cooperation and support for Kyiv's European agenda. Macedonia's presence at such a table is a good thing - it's where we ought to be. The only question that remains is whether our own place inside the Union will one day stop being eternally „on the way" and become reality.