Skopje, 17 June 2025 (МIA) -- Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said Tuesday that Bulgaria would back up its claims of not setting any demands on the country's EU path if it adopted the EU's report on the country's progress in the European Parliament on June 24 -- and accepted the invitation to a meeting during the NATO Summit in The Hague at the end of June.

In response to a reporter asking him to comment on Bulgarian President Rumen Radev's statement that Bulgaria did not have any bilateral disputes with North Macedonia and it was not vetoing or stalling the country's European integration process, PM Mickoski said "official Sofia is sending all kinds of messages."

"As the old wisdom goes, don't listen to what they say, watch what they do. They have the chance to put their words in action on June 24," he said, voicing his expectations that Bulgarian MEPs withdraw their amendments to the EU's progress report in which they insisted that the Macedonian identity and language be preceded by the adjective "present."

Mickoski said he was also looking forward to official Sofia's response to the invitation to meet at the upcoming NATO Summit and "also talk about Corridor VIII and get things moving there, too, so it becomes our Eastern neighbor's priority as well -- so we can build our good neighborly relations."

Bulgarian President Radev said Monday in Tirana that Bulgaria was not imposing any demands on North Macedonia's EU path and was only asking that the Friendship Treaty be honored.

"There is the 2017 Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighborliness, and Cooperation, which contains two protocols.

"There is the 2022 negotiating framework, the European consensus by all member states as well as North Macedonia's government.

"Bulgaria has never set and never will set any conditions outside of this treaty, the negotiating framework and the two protocols," Radev said.

Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski said Monday the state was working on setting up meetings with official Sofia to try to find solutions to the delay in opening accession talks with the EU while also drawing "a clear red line on issues related to identity attributes."

Over the weekend, PM Mickoski said the government had officially requested a meeting with Bulgarian officials at the NATO Summit in The Hague at the end of June and was waiting for their answer. mr/