Position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria on the latest provocation against the goodneighborly relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia
21 July 2023 News.JPG)
With regard to the publications in the Republic of North Macedonia against the “Bitola Small Monmartre“ and calls by officials for the filling of complaints against the organizers of a project aimed at developing goodneighborly relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria makes the following statement:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its support for all initiatives that aim to bring young people from Bulgaria and North Macedonia together through cultural or educational exchange.
With the support of the “Bulgarian Memory” Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Children’s art workshop “St. Cyril and Methodius” from Bitola carried out for yet another year a series of inclusive events for talented children from different countries, one of which was held in Bulgaria.
We view with alarm and perplexity the attempts to portray such positive initiatives in a negative context. It is unclear why the respect given by official representatives of the Bulgarian state for the talent of young creators and reading the renowned masterpiece of children’s literature “The Little Prince” by the Head of State of the Republic of Bulgaria should represent a problem.
The calls to file complaints about the trip of a group of children in Bulgaria, organized with the explicit consent of their parents, is an effort to form negative public opinion and attitudes and exert pressure on local citizens and organizations that support the friendship between the two countries
We are concerned that all of this is happening in the current extremely responsible moment, in which the government in Skopje has declared its intent to create a positive climate for the approval of constitutional changes. Fostering goodneighborly relations with Bulgaria presumes a vastly different, European approach.
We urge our friends in Skopje to focus their efforts on guaranteeing the European future of North Macedonia. Every provocation that aims to justify certain political decisions in the forthcoming decisive period jeopardizes this future. We rely on the institutions in North Macedonia to condemn this and similar provocations in a clear and public manner.