The Minister of Foreign Affairs Svetlan Stoev received the Ambassador of Greece to Bulgaria Dimitris Chronopoulos and the two discussed topics from the regional and common European agenda.
Minister Stoev confirmed the consistent support of Bulgaria for the European path of the countries of the Western Balkans, based on the principle of own merit. The prospects for the start of negotiations for the membership of the Republic of Northern Macedonia in the EU were also discussed, emphasizing the importance of compliance with the neighbourhood agreements that the Republic of Northern Macedonia has signed with Bulgaria and Greece. The Bulgarian side underlined the proactive efforts made in recent months to resolve open issues with Skopje in order to guarantee the rights of citizens with Bulgarian identity and implementation of the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation of 2017. We expect clear guarantees for the implementation of the Treaty to be able to support the holding of the first Intergovernmental Conference with Skopje.
During the conversation, Minister Stoev and Ambassador Chronopoulos shared their great regret and sadness in connection with the crash on the Struma highway, which killed 45 citizens of the Republic of Northern Macedonia. Sympathy was expressed and hope that such tragedies would never happen again.
