In a position published on Sunday, North Macedonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the marking of the 151st birth anniversary of Gotse Delchev was held in the best order and without violation of the public order and calm, with the participation of many official and civil delegations from the Republic of North Macedonia, including the official delegation of the Republic of Bulgaria and Bulgarian nationals wishing to pay tribute to Gotse Delchev. However, on the eve of, as well as after, the marking of the anniversary, radical individuals representing organizations and political parties in Bulgaria continue to make territorial claims towards the Republic of North Macedonia, and constantly damage the dignity of the Macedonian citizens, the Macedonian people, and the country, the position reads.
In accordance with the Constitution and the laws of the country, as well as international law, the competent institutions in North Macedonia were obliged to take, and undertook, all necessary measures to prevent provocations, tension, and incidents that could endanger the national security, the public order, people’s health, and the country’s international relations.
Despite the will it had expressed, Bulgaria failed to make enough efforts to prevent the access of radical individuals to the Deve Bair border control checkpoint, thus giving some of them the opportunity to act aggressively, verbally abuse, and exercise aggression against border police representatives of North Macedonia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs specifies that in accordance with the established work protocols and the EU’s border management standards, part of the violators of the public order were detained and taken to the competent court, which imposed the corresponding measures. The Ministry will send a letter to the European Parliament to inform about the inappropriate and offensive behavior of Bulgarian MEP Alexander Yordanov in social media.
The position denies the claims that Sofia and Skopje agreed to a joint marking of Gotse Delchev’s birth anniversary. The official Bulgarian delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev, was given the opportunity to lay flowers at Gotse Delchev’s grave at the Church of the Ascension in Skopje as a sincere and consistent gesture, the position reads.
“The Republic of North Macedonia cultivates goodneighbourly relations and stands up for the establishment of sustainable friendly relations and productive cooperation with all neighbouring countries, including the Republic of Bulgaria. We thus expect the authorities in the Rebublic of Bulgaria, in the spirit of friendship and goodneighbourliness, to commit on principle and to undertake all necessary measures for de-escalation of the tension by publicly condemning, and taking actions against, all acts that do not contribute to the holding of constructive and benevolent dialogue, based on mutual respect and admiration,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
/DS/
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