site.btaForeign Minister Stoev: Restoring Trust, Stepping Up Dialogue with North Macedonia Among Ministry's Priorities

Sofia, May 25 (BTA) - Restoring trust and stepping up bilateral
dialogue with the Republic of North Macedonia feature among the
priorities, outlined by caretaker Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev
 at a news conference here on Tuesday. 

"We are open to dialogue. Our relations need consistency and
constructive attitude in order to achieve sustainable and
irreversible results in the restoration of trust between the two
 countries," said Stoev.

He recalled that President Stevo Pendarovski of North Macedonia
will be part of a delegation to Rome together with Bulgarian
President Rumen Radev.

The second priority is related to Bulgaria's relations with
NATO. Next week NATO foreign ministers will meet via video
conference as part of preparations for a NATO summit scheduled
in June.

The Foreign Ministry has other tasks to fulfill in parallel with
 organizing the elections abroad, said Stoev. Bulgaria's foreign
 policy and the main function of diplomacy is dialogue and the
making of contacts and friends in the protection of national
interests. The motto of this caretaker government will be
continuity and predictability, which is characteristic of
diplomacy, added Stoev.

He presented his team, specifying that it consists of experts.
Last week Foreign Minister Stoev presented Deputy Foreign
Minister Rumen Alexandrov. On Tuesday Stoev presented his second
 deputy Zaritsa Dinkova. Yana Docheva will be head of cabinet.

Vasiliy Takev, Maya Dobreva, Ulyana Bogdanska will be general
directors. Nedyalcho Danev will be chief secretary and Ivan
Kondov will serve as permanent secretary.

* * *
Foreign Minister Stoev called 'air piracy' an incident with a
Ryanair aircraft, which was diverted and forced to land in
Minsk, and raised the issue of passengers' personal data.

"Such thing happens for the first time, this is air piracy, and
I don't know if we are aware of the scale it may reach," said
Stoev taking a journalist question.

"In addition to the forced landing, the question of the personal
 data of passengers aboard, emerges. How these personal details
are obtained, how they are submitted to the respective services
and who has access. If this becomes routine, I think that we are
 facing new challenges before air transport," said Stoev. He
confirmed that there were no Bulgarians aboard the plane.

He said that already on Tuesday morning Foreign Ministry
Director General Vasiliy Takev met with the Belarusian
Ambassador here. NV/PP