Skopje, 13 June 2025 (MIA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski said Friday he cannot confirm whether a meeting would take place with Bulgarian officials on the sidelines of the NATO summit in The Hague, while noting they want more meetings and regular communication.

"I cannot answer this, you will have to ask this question in Sofia. I can only answer what we are doing and expecting. We want meetings and communication because we believe it is normal for neighbors to communicate on political issues but also range of other issues that concern our bilateral relations. We will always find a way to communicate on the basis of principles, values, policies focused on the country's well-being with all our neighbors, including Bulgaria. Nevertheless, we will not back down from our principled positions," FM Mucunski told a press conference.

He added these were the same messages he conveyed to Bulgarian counterpart Georg Georgiev in their phone call.

"We want cooperation, we want communication, we want to have more meetings. The meeting we had in Munich at the start of his term came at our initiative. We support the efforts for meetings within The Hague summit and all other fora, and we will always support all aspects related to goodneighborly relations," said Mucunski.

He added this does not mean any further room for concessions while reiterating the country's position.

"We believe our path to the EU should be predictable. We are irritated by the creation of a victim narrative, but it is a fact that we have been a victim of continued bilateralization of our European path for more than 20 years. In the first year of its term, the Government has ensured access to the Single Euro Payments Area, became the first country in the region to sign a partnership with the EU in the field of security and defense, the first to secure funds from the Growth Plan," said Mucunski.

The FM noted that everyone in Europe is aware of this but also of the row with Bulgaria, "which must be overcome".

"We need to find a way to overcome this obstacle. The Government, the President and everyone else know this. We should not allow humiliation on the EU path, something that our predecessors allowed by giving up on our national identity, making concessions regarding our language and history. These are the red lines that we are setting up," noted Mucunski.

Photo: MIA