Bulgarian top officials welcome ratification of Skopje-Sofia friendship treaty

Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev praised the ratification of the bilateral treaty by the Macedonian Parliament, his cabinet said in a press release.

‘The treaty, which is the result of many years of efforts by diplomats and statesmen, turns a new page in the bilateral relations. Its entry into force comes at a time when Bulgaria took the Presidency of the EU Council. This is of great significance for Bulgarian-Macedonian bilateral relations and a strong indicator for the positive developments in the Balkans, bringing the region closer to Europe in the context of the Bulgarian EU Presidency’s priorities,’ the press release reads.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, who is paying an official visit to Azerbaijan, also congratulated the Macedonian Parliament on the treaty’s ratification, expressing hope for ‘all countries at some point to sign such agreements on friendship instead of waging wars’, bTV reports.

Commenting on the topic at a briefing on Monday, Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said that the treaty’s signing and ratification showed that ‘Bulgaria and Macedonia alone can, when being benevolent and looking in the same direction, solve within a short period of time problems that have been accumulating for years’.