site.btaFM Genchovska Vows to Do Her Best to See Bulgarians Entered in North Macedonia Constitution

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska  vowed to do her best to see Bulgarians entered in the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia. "My goal is to give a sense of confidence to the Bulgarians in North Macedonia and I will do my best to see them entered in the Constitution of this country," the Minister told reporters in Bitola where she attended the opening of a new club of the Ivan Mihailov Cultural Centre together with Prime Minister Kiril Petkov.

She said that the Prime Minister and heself have the same position on the issue of the EU integration of North Macedonia. "The Foreign Ministry implements the official policy of Bulgaria on North Macedonia according to the framework position and with the support of Parliament," she said.

Her remark was a reference to suspicions that the Prime Minister and herself have diverging positions on the start of Skopje's EU accession, with the Prime Minister aiming to see faster progress of the process.

Bulgaria has refused to give a green light to the start of Skopje's accession talks before it ends hate speech against Bulgaria, stops distorting historic facts and discriminating against Bulgarians.

Genchovska said that she hopes Bulgaria's partners in the EU "will show understanding about the problems that we need to resolve together with our colleagues from North Macedonia". "I rely on support, not pressure, from our partners," she said.

She said that her expectation is that Skopje will meet its commitments and produce tangible results.