Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry condemns the public desecration of the Bulgarian national anthem at Monday's football match between the national teams of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia in Skopje, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson and Deputy Foreign Minister Kostadin Kodzhabashev said on Tuesday.
Hate speech against Bulgaria and the Bulgarians from the stands of the national stadium in Skopje is an unequivocal denial of the fundamental values of the contemporary democratic societies and is in stark contrast with the European principles and norms of behaviour, the statement said.
"We acknowledge the reaction of the Foreign Ministry of the Republic of North Macedonia which denounced the hate speech during the football match. At the same time, we also urge the authorities in Skopje to take firm and irreversible steps towards eradicating anti-Bulgarian aggression in the public space in the country.
"We recall that with the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation and the bilateral protocols to it signed in 2019 and 2022, the two countries firmly stated their commitment to take effective measures against hate speech.
"Maintaining the progress achieved in the political dialogue in recent months requires that such acts must become a thing of the past forever. It is only in this spirit that the two countries will be able to turn a new page in their relations, based on mutual respect and good-neighbourliness," the statement said.
/DD/
news.modal.text
Nothing available