site.btaBulgarian President Comments on Meeting with North Macedonia's Head of State

President Rumen Radev commented on the visit of North Macedonia's head of State Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova to Sofia last week. She arrived on Friday and was welcomed by her Bulgarian counterpart. "I expect this stated aspiration for openness, for constructivism to be taken up by North Macedonia's government," Radev said on Monday. 

"Let's be clear, this was neither a state nor a working visit and I hope that soon the Republic of North Macedonia's President will make a state visit with all official ceremonies according to protocol and this will also contribute to our relations," he added.

Radev said that it is important what Bulgaria will do from now on to help North Macedonia.

North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry is summoning the Bulgarian Ambassador in Skopje on Monday Zhelyazko Radukov to explain why the national flag of North Macedonia was absent in a photo of the Presidents of North Macedonia and Bulgaria taken in Sofia on Friday.

In the photo, Rumen Radev of Bulgaria and Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova of North Macedonia are seen standing in front of the flags of Bulgaria and the EU, but not North Macedonia.

On Saturday, the cabinet of North Macedonia's President said they would demand an explanation from the Bulgarian side.

Because of the photo, the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) called Siljanovska-Davkova's visit to Sofia a diplomatic fail, and diplomats commented for TV Telma that what happened was dismissive and demeaning towards North Macedonia.

Other diplomats from Skopje, however, commented that Siljanovska-Davkova's visit to Sofia was not official and was not at the Bulgarian side's invitation, therefore her meeting at the President's Administration building was informal and the protocol did not require the placement of North Macedonia's flag in the room.