Bulgaria summoned its ambassador to North Macedonia, Angel Angelov, back to Sofia as tensions continue to simmer between the two countries.
Following the assault of Macedonian-Bulgarian Hristian Pendikov in Ohrid, Sofia’s demands for constitutional change in North Macedonia to progress towards the EU, and with Bulgarian elections around the corner, the current spat has well and truly put relations on ice.
But the decision to recall the ambassador has not sat well with Skopje.
“The latest actions of official Sofia are not in line with the agreed practice of encouraging relations,” announced North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani
“They (the actions) represent giving in to the provocations of those who want to frustrate the efforts of the two governments for a stable and positive development of relations between the two countries,” Osmani added.
“Although calling an ambassador for consultation in the homeland is a right of the country and a regular diplomatic practice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regrets this step, which it considers unfounded, unargued and disproportionate,” Osmani told Macedonian lawmakers as quoted by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency.
Ambassador Angelov was summoned for consultations after the incident at the Ohrid club. He will remain in Sofia until signs of change are seen and there is an opportunity for him to return, explained Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov.
Asked by journalists what message this sends to Skopje, the minister replied: “A sign of a firm attitude that this cannot continue in this way. You know what it means to summon the ambassador – nothing more and nothing less than that.”
Meanwhile, the press office of Bulgarian President Rumen Radev announced that he had a telephone call with EU Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.
“Radev emphasised that the frequent cases of aggression against Bulgarians in North Macedonia require a definite institutional response. Attempts to belittle them and treat them only as criminal cases are not in the interest of bilateral relations and the European perspective of Skopje. Inaction and the lack of punishments stimulate hate crimes,” Radev told Varhelyi.
(Krassen Nikolov | EURACTIV.bg)
Source: euractiv.com
