Bulgarian Govt Leaders Snub Macedonian President

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borssov and Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva will not meet Macedonian President George Ivanov while he is on an official two-day visit to Sofia. Ivanov is currently meeting his Bulgarian counterpart, President Rumen Radev.

The local 24 Hours newspaper announced the news early on Thursday, which the Prime Minister's and Foreign Minister's press offices confirmed to BIRN at noon.

The decision follows Ivanov's statement on Wednesday that he will not support any deal with Greece that requires Macedonia to change its constitution.

Under the recently agreed deal with Greece, Macedonia consented to change its name to "Republic of North Macedonia" and amend its constitution.

"The meetings are rejected. We do not want to interfere in the domestic issue of our neighbour. We hold a principled and clear position, similar to that of the international community. The position of the President of Republic of Macedonia is clear, too", the press office of the Bulgarian Prime Minister told BIRN.

"The Bulgarian government will not be used in internal debates in Skopje. The EU and NATO integration of our neighbour is crucial and shouldn't be put at stake," the same message continued.

A spokesperson from the Foreign Ministry also confirmed Ekaterina Zaharieva will not meet Ivanov, for similar reasons.

"We don't have anything to discuss with him. We support the agreement and Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic prospects," the spokesperson added.

Zaharieva informed the Bulgarian President of the position of the government on Thursday, before he was to meet Ivanov.

Bulgaria's government on Wednesday warmly welcomed the breakthrough in the name dispute with Greece, noting that it "opens the road of the Euro...