Skopje, 1 June 2022 (MIA) — The position of There is Such a People is not to prevent the Republic of North Macedonia from joining the EU, but the political party believes the country should be a trusted partner first, according to the party's international secretary Dimitar Gardev. “We need to have absolute guarantees that the Treaty on Good Neighborliness and Cooperation between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia will be respected, that hate speech will stop, that the rights of Bulgarians in Macedonia will be upheld, and that we will have a friendly neighbor,” Gardev told Bulgarian National radio. According to him, given the current international crisis, the behavior of the country needed to be sensitive to the complex geopolitical moment. He stressed that Bulgaria was a serious country that supported EU and NATO efforts and stability in the Balkan region, so it was dishonest to say that "the protection of Bulgarian national interests is part of the Kremlin's hybrid war in the Balkans." There Is Such a People, led by TV presenter Slavi Trifonov, is part of Bulgaria's four-party ruling coalition. mr/