Bulgarian President Radev: Bulgaria accepts Macedonia–Greece name agreement

Bulgaria is very concerned about the escalation in Macedonia over the agreement on new name of the country, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev at Thursday’s press conference in Sofia after meeting his Macedonian counterpart Gjorge Ivanov.

Radev urged Ivanov not only to be a participant, but also a leader in the dialogue between the institutions in the Republic of Macedonia, because, as he emphasized, it is an important condition for accomplishing strategic priorities – EU and NATO membership.

“Bulgaria accepts agreement reached between Macedonia and Greece on the name dispute, especially because it will remove obstacles on Macedonia’s path to the EU and NATO,” Radev said.

Bulgarian support to name deal is related strictly to the respect of the agreements that Skopje and Athens have with Sofia, he underlined.

The press office of the Bulgarian government confirmed that the Thursday meetings of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva with the visiting Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov have been cancelled.

“We don’t want to interfere in the home affairs of our neighbour [Macedonia]. Our position [on the solution to the Macedonia-Greece name dispute] is clear and principled, as is that of the entire international community. The position of the President of the Republic of Macedonia is equally clear. The Bulgarian government sees no point in being used in the internal politics debates of Skopje,” said the government press office, BTA reports.