site.btaForeign Minister Georg Georgiev, Ljupcho Georgievski Meet with Foreign Diplomats

Minister of Foreign Affairs Georg Georgiev met with ambassadors and diplomats from the embassies of the EU member states, the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland in Bulgaria, the ministry's press office said on Friday.

The foreign diplomats were briefed in detail on the increasing trends of institutional repression against the Bulgarian community in the Republic of North Macedonia. In this context, an open and frank discussion was held with the chairman of the Ivan Mihailov Cultural Club in Bitola, which was closed by the authorities in Skopje, Ljupcho Georgievski.

Minister Georgiev reaffirmed the consistent support of the Bulgarian state to Georgievski and stressed the Bulgarian position, which defines as categorically unacceptable the conviction of Mr. Georgievski, who received a one-year suspended sentence with a two-year probation period by a court in Bitola on June 12. Bulgaria regards the case and the conviction of Mr. Georgievski as a politically motivated trial, inconsistent with an EU candidate country claiming to be an example of a functioning democracy.

The Bulgarian institutions remain committed to guaranteeing the rights of Bulgarians in North Macedonia, including through the use of all international human rights mechanisms, the statement said.