site.btaNational Assembly Chair Visits Skopje at Invitation of North Macedonia's Parliament Speaker

The relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia should be like between good neighbors and it is time for both countries to understand this and work for the good of their citizens, National Assembly Chair Rosen Zhelyazkov told representatives of Bulgarian organizations in North Macedonia, quoted by the National Assembly press center on Monday.

Zhelyazkov is on a working visit to Skopje at the invitation of North Macedonia's Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi. He visited the building of the Bulgarian Cultural and Information Centre in Skopje where he held talks with representatives of Bulgarian organizations from Veles, Shtip, Ohrid, Bitola, Struga, Prilep, etc.

The Bulgarian National Assembly Chair expressed his support to the Bulgarians in North Macedonia in their desire to normalize relations between the two countries.

Zhelyazkov pointed out that Bulgaria and North Macedonia are bound to prove that they belong to the European nations and share common values and history with them.

The main problem of the Macedonian Bulgarians and Bulgarian citizens living in the Republic of North Macedonia is the manifestations of intolerance and the escalation of hate speech against the Bulgarian minority in the country. The representatives of the Bulgarian organizations expressed their hope that they would receive support from Bulgaria in the search for solutions to reduce the tension. They pointed out that political steps need to be taken by both Bulgaria and North Macedonia to stop attempts to incite hate speech and to create preconditions for unnecessary incidents between representatives of the two countries.

The countries’ common history should make the Balkan region more united, stronger and more attractive for investment, the National Assembly Chair underlined. "On this basis we can build bridges, not to divide, but to strive for a common European future," Zhelyazkov said. All this is quite possible if North Macedonia fulfils the conditions and inscribes Bulgarians in its Constitution, on an equal footing with other nations, he added.

The parliamentary dimension of the bilateral relations should stimulate the dialogue between the two countries, Zhelyazkov stressed. He noted that this was also the purpose of his visit to Skopje: “connectivity should be one of the leading themes in the bilateral dialogue,” he said.