Bulgaria’s President: Apparently it will take Time until North Macedonia Stands among the Democratic States

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev

"Apparently, it will take time for North Macedonia to stand among democratic states. The leadership of North Macedonia must convince its citizens that it is building a democratic state in which there are no shootings and burning of Bulgarian clubs, in which Bulgarians are not subjected to systematic harassment, physical violence and staged trials."

This was stated by President Rumen Radev, who opened today the 16th annual conference of defense chiefs from the Balkan countries, dedicated to regional military connectivity and mobility.

"The leadership of North Macedonia can claim to be building a modern multi-ethnic society, but when it finds the strength to include Gotse Delchev's compatriots in its constitution," the president added.

According to him, already in 2021, for the first time, he raised the issue of the rights of the Bulgarians in North Macedonia before all European partners.

"You hold this process for a year, it was vetoed twice, until the European institutions convinced themselves that this is not a bilateral problem, but a European one, because it concerns the Copenhagen criteria for membership - the non-admission of discrimination. This is a process planted for decades - a whole doctrine , based on anti-Bulgarian ideology," Rumen Radev also pointed out.

On the occasion of Dimitar Kovachevski's words that Bulgaria treats Macedonia as Russia treats Ukraine, the president stated:

"Are there people in Bulgaria who identify themselves as Macedonians? There are, but they have the same rights as all Bulgarian citizens. They are not persecuted, there are no staged trials against them, there are no burnings, shootings, beatings. They can work in the administration at all levels and can...

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