Asked by “Lokalno” whether the ministry would investigate the possibility that the diplomatic note had come from North Macedonia’s embassy in Bulgaria, Mucunski said: “From an official standpoint, we have closed the topic with Sofia and are awaiting an appropriate response from their side. In my view, it is not in the spirit of friendship and good neighborly relations to say that this is old information; that is not good when it comes to diplomatic communication.”

Last week, Prime Minister Mickoski said he had informed NATO allies about the incident, because, according to him, it involved a case that compromised his security and that of his family.

In its initial response, official Sofia denied that the diplomatic note had been leaked from its Foreign Ministry, arguing that it concerned an event that had taken place some time ago. The case is linked to a trip by the Prime Minister’s wife in January of this year./Telegrafi/

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According to Bulgarian media, Kajchev said that meetings and talks are being held, but without concrete results and without decisions that can be approved and implemented by the governments of both states.

He recalled that during the period when the Commission was formed, there were decisions and texts that had been approved by both governments. However, according to him, they are unfortunately not being implemented. He also stressed that since 2019 the work of the Commission has remained “stuck in one place” and is “working in vain.”

Kajchev stated that the meetings are continuing and that the latest one was held at the beginning of June, on June 3-4 of this year in Skopje. But, according to him, unfortunately no result is still being achieved. He added that the other side lacks the will to listen to historical sources and, above all, to make concrete decisions.

The historian also said that European diplomacy is well aware of the real situation in Macedonia, and as evidence of this he cited the European Parliament Report.

“The assessments of the country are not at all flattering. It is emphasized that there was no progress last year. There are also remarks in the field of ecology. Even the country’s political system is assessed only as ‘satisfactory,’” Kajchev said.

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In a statement to the Bulgarian state agency “BTA”, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry emphasized that, as had been announced earlier, the note made public concerns the events of January 6, 2026. According to them, the circumstances of this case are still being clarified, while an inspection has been ordered to determine all the facts related to the handling of the note within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A few days earlier, Bulgarian diplomacy had denied that it had shared information about the Mickoski family’s trip. It had even distanced itself from the case, arguing that it concerned events that had taken place some time ago and that, for this reason, they could not be treated as an immediate security threat.

On the other hand, Mickoski said in an interview with MRTV, on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Government’s mandate, that the provocations that have occurred in the recent period are part of an organized Bulgarian campaign in our country. According to him, its aim is to promote things that are unacceptable through one or two political figures.

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Speaking on “Samo Intervju,” Mucunski said he was “terribly disappointed” by the response that came from Sofia regarding yesterday’s announcement by the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the publication of the diplomatic note related to the trip by members of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski’s immediate family to Pamporovo at the beginning of the year.

He reiterated that the statement does not include a clear denial that the material was leaked from the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but only implies that the event happened some time ago.

“The response was essentially that it happened a long time ago. It was not even a clear denial, only that the incident happened a long time ago,” Mucunski added.

Mucunski stressed that the minimum he expected from official Sofia was a condemnation of the publication of the diplomatic note, comparing this to the way North Macedonia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the country’s institutions acted, as they immediately condemned the burning of two diplomatic vehicles in front of the Bulgarian embassy in Skopje, which happened recently.

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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.

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Minister Mucunski said that clarifications had been requested from the Bulgarian institutions regarding this case, but that so far, according to him, no response has been received.

He stressed that if such a situation had happened in Macedonia, he, as minister, would have apologized.

The diplomatic note provides details about the itinerary followed by Mickoski’s wife and son, includes their personal data, as well as information about the police escort that accompanied them and the weapons it possessed. The document also requests that Bulgaria provide police security in Pamporovo and, if necessary, protection throughout their entire stay./Telegrafi/

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After meeting with her counterpart from North Macedonia, Afrim Gashi, on the sidelines of the 13th plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the South-East European Cooperation Process, Dotsova stressed that this position cannot be renegotiated and that constitutional changes are essential.

She also raised Sofia’s concerns over what she described as anti-Bulgarian demonstrations, as well as the burning of diplomatic vehicles belonging to the Bulgarian diplomatic mission. According to her, the perpetrator of the crime must receive a fair punishment.

On the other hand, Gashi invited Dotsova and the parliamentary delegation to visit Macedonia.

As previously reported by Gashi’s office, the Speaker of the Macedonian Parliament told his Bulgarian counterpart that the creation of narratives focused on the past burdens relations between Macedonia and Bulgaria.

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This concern was raised in a letter by MEP Denitsa Sacheva, sent to President Pablo Espan and members of the EPP/CD group in PACE shortly before the start of the assembly’s summer session, being held in Strasbourg from June 22 to 26.

In her letter, Sacheva argues that the burning of two diplomatic vehicles in front of the Bulgarian embassy in Macedonia should not be seen as an isolated incident.

According to her, this incident is part of a broader and troubling series of attacks that, in recent years, have targeted Bulgarian institutions, organizations, and citizens in the Republic of North Macedonia.

She also drew attention to “the attack on the Bulgarian Cultural Center in Macedonia in 2023, the vandalism against the Bulgarian Embassy in January 2026, the arson attack on the Ivan Mihajlov Cultural Club in Bitola, and the serious assault on Hristijan Pendikov, secretary of the Tsar Boris III Cultural Club in Ohrid.”

Sacheva stressed that these episodes, in her view, reflect a continuing and troubling trend of hostility toward Bulgarian institutions, organizations, and citizens in North Macedonia. She linked this climate to negative rhetoric toward Bulgaria and Bulgarians in some political and public debates, the insufficient response to hate speech, as well as the lack of effective prevention against those responsible for such acts.

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Speaking to journalists at today’s meeting, Gashi said that the talks will focus on parliamentary cooperation, underlining that it has not been intensive so far. Regarding the constitutional changes, he said he will reiterate the positions that have already been made public, which, according to him, represent both the state position and his personal conviction.

“We need to talk, we need to move forward, to find a way to be together in the EU. I think the future should unite us, not the past, so I am going with a positive mindset and I want to take part in improving relations between our two countries and our two parliaments,” Gashi said.

Speaking about relations between the two assemblies, he stressed that the political situation in Bulgaria and the frequent elections there have so far made it impossible to establish proper and direct communication with the Bulgarian parliament.

“Now we are trying to establish good communication with the new composition after the parliamentary elections there,” Gashi said.

Two MPs are already present at the meeting being held in Sofia, while Gashi will join them tomorrow.

A week ago, as part of the SEECP chaired by Bulgaria, President Gordana Sijanovska Davkova and Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski also took part in meetings in Sofia.

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