site.btaNorth Macedonia Deputy PM: Bulgarian Political Parties, President Exploiting Us for Political Gain

The topic of [North] Macedonia always comes up during elections in Bulgaria, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport of the Republic of North Macedonia, Aleksandar Nikoloski, in an interview with TV Alfa on Wednesday. He was responding to a question about the absence of the national flag of North Macedonia in a photo of Presidents Rumen Radev and Gordana Siljanovska during Siljanovska's visit to Bulgaria on September 13.

Nikoloski noted that Bulgaria is in a unique political situation, with "two realities" – political parties have been unable to form a [regular] government for two years, and "the President, who has limited executive power, is trying to become the leading political figure and create a political party after his term ends."

"Both the political parties and the President are trying to gain advantages at the expense of [North] Macedonia," Nikoloski said. During the meeting between Radev and Siljanovska, the hosts did not show respect towards Siljanovska, he argued.

"The absolute minimum level of courtesy is to display the flag of the visiting president's country. It is not Siljanovska's duty to check for flags, it is the host's responsibility to show respect. However, the host is evidently uncivilized, and they can send a protest note about my statement, if they like. Since the host is neither civilized nor decent, nor respectful, this is what happens. Only those in our country who falsely claimed that the Macedonian and Bulgarian people share a common history, which they do not, are more contemptible. The same people who signed off on the fact that the Macedonian language is a dialect of Bulgarian and that we will never join the European Union unless we acknowledge we are Bulgarians with Bulgarian roots, they now speak of patriotism," Nikoloski said.

After the meeting where the flag of North Macedonia was absent from official photos, the country's Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said that North Macedonia is willing to build good neighborly relations but will react if "red lines" are crossed, potentially issuing a demarche to the Bulgarian Ambassador. Mickoski accused Bulgaria's leadership of seeking dominance rather than genuine cooperation.