site.btaAmbassador of North Macedonia in Sofia Summoned to Foreign Ministry Due to Desecration of Bulgarian National Symbols in Skopje

On May 16, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of North Macedonia Agneza Rusi Popovska was summoned to a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Yordan Parvanov, Director General for European Affairs, to be handed a protest note in which the Bulgarian side expresses serious concern over successive cases of desecration of Bulgarian national symbols on the territory of the neighbouring country, the line ministry press service said on Friday.

On May 4, hours after the laying of wreaths on the grave of Gotse Delchev in the Church of St. Spas, it was found that among the many wreaths laid, only the tricolor ribbon with the Bulgarian flag had been removed. In addition, another act of vandalism was committed against a moraine, donated by Bulgaria, which is located in the Francophonie Park in Skopje.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria condemns such hostile actions, and noted with regret that identical unacceptable encroachments have been registered in previous periods. The latter is indicative of the fact that the systematic lack of reaction by  the competent authorities in the Republic of North Macedonia further fuels the transformation of manifestations of anti-Bulgarian hostility and vandalism into a sustainable tendency.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria expects the authorities of the neighbouring country to take the necessary actions to identify the perpetrators of these acts and hold them accountable, as well as for the timely restoration of the moraine monument in its authentic form, the statement said.