“It was the presidential institution that first raised the issue of the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia,” Bulgarian presidential candidate Iliana Jotova said during a debate with her opponent, Andrey Gyurov, ahead of the second round of the country’s presidential election on November 1.
Jotova added that the issue had not been mentioned in the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation.
“Bulgaria’s strategy towards the Republic of North Macedonia must continue as it has until now. For a long time, relations with the Republic of North Macedonia and its accession to the European Union have not been matters of bilateral relations. We are talking about a European policy towards the Republic of North Macedonia. European institutions are rigorously monitoring the necessary criteria for this process to move forward,” Jotova said during a debate on BNT.
According to her, nothing has improved since the signing of the Good Neighbourliness Agreement, either in terms of hate speech or the persecution of people of Bulgarian origin. She said the acquittal of those who attacked Hristijan Pendikov was clear evidence of this.
“We will continue to insist with our European partners that the agreement and European policies be implemented. As for Bulgaria’s national position, you see in me someone who will not deviate even an inch from what has already been agreed, although Skopje is making very serious efforts to annul certain protocols,” Jotova said.
Jotova accused former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov of being unaware of the agreement and of intending to travel to Skopje to change Bulgaria’s position.
