site.btaPresident of North Macedonia Comments on Relations with Bulgaria and Bulgarian Foreign Ministry's Statement

President of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski said that constructiveness is necessary in the bilateral relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia and in the efforts to resolve their issues and that "the existence of a North Macedonian minority in Bulgaria is a fact, which is confirmed by Strasbourg". 

His position, quoted by the MIA news agency, was in response to the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoning the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bulgaria to North Macedonia to a meeting in Sofia on Wednesday "on the occasion of recent public comments of politicians from the neighbouring country and false statements spread by them regarding Bulgaria".

"In connection with the announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, we inform you that the position of President Pendarovski, both in the past and now, is that constructiveness is necessary in bilateral relations and the resolution of open issues, given that this country also claims to be part of the European Union, where together with neighboring Bulgaria it will aim for even greater cooperation. Regarding the comments that refer to the existence of a [North] Macedonian minority in Bulgaria, this is a fact that is confirmed by the decisions of the court in Strasbourg," MIA quoted the message from Pendarovski's press office.

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry's statement which expresses objection to the attempt to further involve Bulgaria  in the internal political debate in the Republic of North Macedonia, including in the context of the current election campaign, has been widely publicized by the media in the country.