Minister Ivan Kondov commented on the recent events in our relations with Skopje
10 May 2023 News
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Kondov gave a special media briefing on the latest developments in Bulgaria's relations with the Republic of North Macedonia. The Minister recalled the case of 6 May this year, when the Bulgarian MEP Andrey Kovachev, the Chairperson of the Bulgarian Memory Foundation Dr. Milen Vrabevski and other Bulgarian citizens were not allowed on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia for the traditional pilgrimage to the Bulgarian military cemetery in Novo Selo. In the notices served to the Bulgarian citizens by the border authorities, it was stated that they were on a banned list in the border system of the neighbouring country.
‘It was noticeable that the explanation of the Republic of North Macedonia ambassador in Bulgaria and the announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Skopje contradicted the official documents handed by the border authorities,’ Ivan Kondov stressed. He called untenable the thesis that Andrei Kovachev was ‘indirect damage to other persons’ who posed a threat to public order.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in the process of informing all European partners about this unprecedented act, which does not coincide with Skopje's declared intention to work for good neighbourly relations and to implement its commitments. Formal letters are to be sent to the European institutions by the Presidency, the National Assembly and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it became clear during the briefing.
The Minister also touched upon the problems of people with Bulgarian identity in our neighbouring country. ‘We expect a country that is a candidate for EU membership to effectively protect all its citizens. Instead, we are witnessing attempts to silence the voices of the Macedonian Bulgarians by raising baseless accusations against them, by pressuring them with lawsuits, by demonizing them in the media and especially on social networks,’ Minister Kondov stressed.
Other commitments made by Skopje and even elementary gestures of goodwill, such as the agreed apology to the Bulgarians repressed by the communist regime there or the opening of the archives of the state repressive apparatus from the period before 1991, are also missing.
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