Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry on Kovachevski's words: Any analogy with the suffering of the Ukrainian people is cynical and unacceptable

With regard to the statement of the Prime Minister of North Macedonia to the Council of Europe, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria stresses that it is unacceptable that the expression of concern for the fundamental rights of a community should be used as a pretext for unjustified and caustic attacks against a member state of the European Union. The statement of the Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia once again clearly shows Skopje's real attitude towards the EU's fundamental values and its rejection of the right to react to existing deficits.

Prime Minister of North Macedonia publicly attacked Bulgaria at an international forum

Any analogy with the suffering of the Ukrainian people in Russia's current unjustified war is cynical and unacceptable.

The European perspective of the Republic of North Macedonia goes through strict adherence to the European mechanism established in July 2022. Attempts to divert public attention from the lack of will to implement the commitments made are not productive and are at odds with Skopje's declared desire to build good neighbourly relations.

Particularly worrying in Prime Minister Kovachevski's statement is the suggestion that if North Macedonia does not continue on its EU accession negotiation path, this would have a negative impact on Albania. Bulgaria has consistently supported the European integration of all countries in the Western Balkans based on their own merits. Unlike North Macedonia, Albania has fully opened accession negotiations and the speed at which it will progress depends solely on its progress in the reform process.

We call on the authorities in Skopje to show political courage and to start implementing the commitments they have made to all EU Member States in order to complete the opening phase of accession negotiations. The responsibility for North Macedonia's European future is in its own hands, the Foreign Ministry's position reads.