site.btaUS: "Treaty with Macedonia Important for Entire Region"

Bled, Slovenia, September 5 (BTA) - Conferring with Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva within the framework of the Bled Strategic Forum, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Hoyt Yee congratulated Bulgaria on the Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation with the Republic of Macedonia and described the treaty as important for the peoples of Bulgaria and Macedonia but also for the entire region, Zaharieva's Ministry said in a press release on Tuesday.

"One of the principal merits of this treaty is that it was drafted without outside help, we thus demonstrated that we can solve our issues without mediators," Zaharieva emphasized.

Yee said the US hopes that this treaty will create an appropriate atmosphere for Macedonia to improve its relations with its other neighbours as well.

The Deputy Prime Minister and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State also discussed the current political situation in the region, Bulgaria's foreign policy initiatives, and the efforts to achieve energy diversification in the Balkans.