site.btaNorth Macedonia's Prime Minister: Skopje Talking to EC about Resolving Dispute with Bulgaria, Awaits Sofia's Response

Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia Hristijan Mickoski said Saturday that Skopje is talking to the European Commission about resolving the dispute with Bulgaria, but a response from Sofia is awaited for a possible meeting of officials of the two countries, Radio Free Europe's North Macedonia office reported.

"Both yesterday [Friday] and today [Saturday], we are talking to the European Commission office. We still have no answer. There is a proposed deadline, let's wait for the Bulgarian side to make a statement," Mickoski said.

Earlier, he said that European Council President Antonio Costa had launched an initiative for a meeting between North Macedonia and Bulgaria. It could take place on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in The Hague on June 24-25.

North Macedonia will be represented at the meeting by President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, but it is not yet known whether Bulgaria will be represented by President Rumen Radev or Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov. Siljanovska-Davkova has expressed her willingness to meet both of them.