Petrova: Bulgaria maintains the same demands for North Macedonia’s European path

Following a bilateral meeting with North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski in Sofia, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova said that Bulgaria continues to support North Macedonia’s European perspective. She clarified that the conditions for its progress have not changed since 2022.

Petrova described the meeting with Mucunski as constructive and said it had taken place at North Macedonia’s request, which she had accepted. According to her, Sofia expects the constitutional amendments to be adopted, as well as all other elements of the agreed consensus.

During the talks, the Bulgarian minister asked her counterpart to present Skopje’s position regarding the deadlines for fulfilling its commitments.

“Their position is that an atmosphere of trust must be created. For me, the main way to build trust is to fulfill the commitments. I hope we will see positive steps in this direction,” the Bulgarian foreign minister said.

She pointed out that other Western Balkan states, including Albania and Montenegro, are demonstrating political will to advance in the European integration process.

“I hope the same will happen with North Macedonia,” Petrova added, stressing that Sofia is not imposing new conditions on Skopje.