site.btaCaretaker Foreign Minister Kondov Meets with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Hungary Counterparts in New York

Caretaker Foreign Minister Ivan Kondov met with his counterparts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan and Hungary on the last day of his working visit to New York, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on its website on Saturday. 

With his counterpart from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elmedin Konaković, Kondov discussed the country's progress on its path towards European integration. He assured Konaković that Bulgaria continues to strongly support the prospect of Bosnia and Herzegovina's membership in the European Union (EU) as the only viable path to stability, prosperity and sustainability of the society. They agreed that political consultations between the Foreign Ministries of Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina would be held in the coming months.

Later, Kondov also met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov, with whom he discussed the opportunities for deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries and the high level of bilateral political dialogue, with energy and connectivity at its core. Azerbaijan is a key partner of Bulgaria in the field of energy and makes a significant contribution as a source of diversification of natural gas supplies to the Bulgarian economy and to Europe, the Foreign Ministry said. 

In an informal conversation with Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Kondov briefed him on the results of the investigation carried out by the Bulgarian Government in connection with media publications on the communication devices used for attacks in Lebanon, which has shown in a categorical way that there is no basis for any interference on behalf of the Balkan country. Kondov also stressed that the dissemination of such false information about Bulgaria's involvement in such a deal in this tense situation in the Middle East region not only damages the country's image, but may also lead to security risks for Bulgarian citizens. Kondov also discussed with his Hungarian counterpart Prime Minister Orban's proposal for Hungary to mediate between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia. He assured his Hungarian counterpart that there is no need for mediation as North Macedonia will be convinced to meet the criteria for starting negotiations.

From New York, Minister Kondov will travel to Washington, D.C., where, at the invitation of U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, he will participate in the anniversary meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS/Daesh.

The meeting marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Global Coalition to Combat ISIS and the foreign ministers of the 87 Member States are expected to take note of the progress made in stabilizing the liberated areas and renew their collective commitment to cooperation aimed at strengthening regional stability, according to the Foreign Ministry. 

The meeting will discuss the need to strengthen joint counter-terrorism efforts and cooperation among partners to defeat ISIS (Daesh) wherever it operates, given its continued spread in areas of weak governance in the Middle East and Africa. Ministers will make a strong call to bring detained terrorists to justice and to block terrorists' access to resources and funding in order to disrupt their core operations in Iraq and Syria, as well as affiliates in Asia and Africa.