Sofia Rejects Publication of Diplomatic Note, Skopje Demands Explanations and Accountability

Following Skopje’s request for the Bulgarian authorities to apologize for the publication of data related to the family of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, official Sofia has also responded.

North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister, Timço Mucunski, held talks with Bulgarian Ambassador Angell Aleksandrov Angelov after Bulgarian media published the diplomatic note sent regarding the trip of Mickoski’s wife and son to the winter resort of Pamporovo at the beginning of this year.

According to Mucunski, the Macedonian side has asked not only for clarifications, but also for a full investigation into how that document ended up in the public domain. He said that at this stage they have received neither any explanation nor any apology. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mickoski has stated that he has also informed NATO about the matter.

On the other hand, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied being involved in the publication of a diplomatic note related to the Mickoski family’s trip to Pamporovo, stressing that the document is not connected to any current threat, but rather to issues from the past.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not distributed any diplomatic note or any other official correspondence related to the visit to Bulgaria by family members of an official representative of another country. The information circulating publicly in recent days concerns a verbal note dated January 6, 2026 and relates to events from the distant past. At this moment, this information cannot be taken as a basis for conclusions that there is a direct threat to the security of the citizens of Bulgaria or of any other country,” said Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Meanwhile, the ruling party OBRM-PDUKM continues to demand accountability and at the same time accuses SDSM of remaining silent over what it describes as a diplomatic scandal. According to MP Brane Petrushevski, the case contains sensitive data related to the security of Prime Minister Mickoski and his family.

“Instead of an apology and accountability from official Sofia, the public got silence. But even louder is the silence of the special Bulgarian envoy, Venko Filipçe. The person who for months has been relativizing Bulgarian positions and presenting himself as their loudest advocate in Macedonia today has no words or condemnation for this diplomatic scandal,” said Brane Petrushevski, an OBRM-PDUKM MP.