site.btaUPDATED President Radev Meets North Macedonia Counterpart Siljanovska-Davkova in Sofia

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev met with the head of State of the Republic of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova at the Presidential Palace in Sofia, said the President's press centre on Friday.

Siljanovska-Davkova is visiting Bulgaria on the occasion of the Skopje National Opera and Ballet’s tour, which will be performing Giuseppe Verdi's opera Nabucco at the Sofia Opera and Ballet.

During the meeting, Radev underscored that Bulgaria expects Siljanovska-Davkova’s desire for dialogue and understanding to become a consistent policy of North Macedonia’s government. He stressed that the dialogue at the highest level between the two countries should be active and should stimulate the work of the governments, business, as well as bilateral exchanges in the fields of education, science and culture.

Bulgaria has always been open to a dialogue with North Macedonia and expects such a dialogue not only to promote bilateral cultural rapprochement and economic cooperation, but also to resolve the issues between the two countries. They should be resolved based on the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation signed between Sofia and Skopje, and the European Council Conclusions of the summer of 2022, adopted unanimously by all EU member states and agreed by North Macedonia, Radev stressed. He added that this is the way to start the negotiation process for the full European integration of North Macedonia to the benefit of the young people in the country and the whole region. 

Bulgaria’s head of State also called for much more active joint efforts for the construction of Trans-European Corridor 8 (one of ten Pan-European transport corridors, connecting the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea), which is of key importance for connectivity and security in Southeast Europe and will create new conditions for business, tourism and will encourage investment in the region.

After the meeting, Siljanovska-Davkova said that she had invited Bulgarian President Rumen Radev to visit Skopje, but they had not discussed the possible date of the visit. She noted that the two had talked in a "pleasant atmosphere that will bear fruit".

"Today we talked about specific issues, about the inclusion of Bulgarians in North Macedonian constitution. But I am not an absolute monarch, and I cannot say whether we will change the constitution. MPs represent citizens, they vote, and I cannot stop parliamentary democracy," Siljanovska-Davkova said.

"We have agreed on the most important issues: the European integration, the Copenhagen criteria, the regional approach for solving problems, on the fact that Bulgarian lessons have been learned and we will not have to repeat our mistakes and that we will seek solutions together without anyone feeling wronged, offended or forgotten", North Macedonia’s President stressed.

Following the meeting with Radev, Siljanovska-Davkova expressed condolences for the two Bulgarian officer pilots who lost their lives in a crash of a military L-39 ZA aircraft at the Graf Ignatievo Air Base (South Bulgaria).

On Thursday, the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, asked about Siljanovska's visit to Sofia, said: "The policy of my government is one of good neighbourly relations, and there should be no doubt about that." He added: "Our motto is that we do not want what is not ours, but we do not give away what is ours. Building good neighbourly relations is a European value."