site.btaUPDATED Parliamentary Groups React to Statement by North Macedonia PM Kovachevski

Parliamentary groups Thursday reacted to a statement by North Macedonia's Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski. Speaking at the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavik on Wednesday, Kovachevski said that the discourse used by Bulgaria towards North Macedonia "is, unfortunately, very similar to the discourse used by the Russian Federation towards Ukraine." "North Macedonia is internationally recognized as a functional modern multi-ethnic society where all rights are respected. All reports confirm this. The accusations stated at this Summit by the representative of Bulgaria are completely unfounded and come from a country that does not respect the rulings of the ECtHR and the standards of the Council in the area of human rights,” Kovachevski pointed out.

GERB-UDF MP Georg Georgiev said in a declaration on behalf of his parliamentary group that "if today in any way someone dares to compare us with the Russian Federation, then we must pay very serious attention to him and issue a warning, but this warning must also be to ourselves, for in our hands is the toolkit through which we can address and redress this injustice." Georgiev called Kovachevski's statement not only cynical, but defined as brazen his attitude towards a country that for the last 30 years has done everything possible to raise not only its own authority, but also that of its neighbors The MP turned to the Republic of North Macedonia: "Your European integration is not our goal in itself, it is the way we can strengthen and show that we are civilized, progressive countries that will emancipate themselves from this "hateful way of speaking" that we have been observing lately by western neighbours.

Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria MP Nikolay Denkov commented that the analogy with Russia and Ukraine is absolutely inappropriate. "I am sure that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take the appropriate steps," he added. Denkov said that it is proper for the National Assembly to take a position on the subject, but this should be done carefully so that the escalation does not continue. MP Atanas Atanassov commented that in this complicated international situation, "the Russian and Serbian agents are doing everything necessary to drive a wedge in the relations in the EU and, accordingly, to prevent the the Republic of North Macedonia from entering the EU".

BSP for Bulgaria floor leader Korneliya Ninova told reporters that Kovachevski's words were rude, groundless, unacceptable for Bulgaria. Ninova announced that a general declaration of the Bulgarian National Assembly will be initiated against the more and more frequent words and actions by the official authorities in the Republic of North Macedonia against the authority and dignity of Bulgaria. "We will insist that it be a common position of all parties represented in Parliament and its institution as a whole to say that this cannot continue. Such attitude towards Bulgaria is humiliating, insulting and unacceptable for us", she stated.

Vazrazhdane floor leader Kostadin Kostadinov commented that "such statements are an open provocation". This is old rhetoric in the Republic of North Macedonia, he noted, argiung that the truth is that the Republic of North Macedonia largely exists as a country thanks to Bulgaria. In his words, Kovachevski's statement was in response to Vice President of Bulgaria Iliana Iotova, in which she mentioned all the provocations towards Bulgaria in recent years. "It's high time we start speaking the truth out loud, of course we will provoke counter-slander from our North Macedonian partners, but that shouldn't stop us, because at the end of the day we are a member of the EU, not them, and they want to enter the EU, not us," he added.

There Is Such a People MP Pavela Mitova said in a declaration on behalf of her parliamentary group that Kovachevski's rhetoric is further proof that numerous concessions on the diplomatic stage do not lead to the desired results. The violation of human rights, the humiliation of Bulgarian citizens, the attacks on them and their associations, and the increasingly unconcealed language of hatred clearly show that the political class in the Republic of North Macedonia has no intention of adhering to the agreements between the two sides and honouring their commitments to protection of pan-European values, Mitova added.