site.btaNorth Macedonia's PM Mickoski Denies "Any Kind of Attack" on Bulgarian Journalist Vladimir Perev

The Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia and leader of the ruling VMRO–DPMNE party, Hristijan Mickoski, Wednesday denied any kind of attack on Vladimir Perev, a journalist and prominent figure in the Bulgarian community in North Macedonia. "I had consultations yesterday [Tuesday], and I can categorically state that no kind of attack was carried out against the person in question," Mickoski said in reply to a journalist. 

On Monday, Perev reported on the website Tribuna.mk, where he has been writing in recent years, that he was verbally and physically attacked by a man in his 40s in a shop in the centre of Skopje. In response to the incident, the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement condemning "yet another act of hate violence against a Bulgarian in the Republic of North Macedonia" and urging the relevant authorities in North Macedonia to promptly and effectively investigate and bring the perpetrator to justice.

On Tuesday, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev commented that "it is high time for the Republic of North Macedonia to launch an effective investigation and criminal prosecution of all attacks against Bulgarians there. This is the only way for this country to achieve European integration."

On Wednesday, the VMRO-Bulgarian National Movement held a silent protest in support of Perev in the car park in front of the National Assembly in Sofia.