Interference of one country in another is inadmissible. This is declared in the Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation with Bulgaria. I have no problem with people’s self-determination, and our President, the Government and the Parliament are available to respond to any question of any injustice to any citizen, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said commenting on Bulgarian President Rumen Radev’s statement that he would urge services in his country to “undertake timely measures for adequate protection of the rights of Bulgarians in neighboring North Macedonia.”
“I hope it is a matter of an information meeting about gathering information on citizens of Bulgarian ethnicity, and information will be shared if certain rights haven’t been recognized, accepted, or have been disrespected in some way. Because interference of one country in another is inadmissible. This is declared in the Treaty on Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation with Bulgaria.
“Moreover, in talks that are ongoing we’re taking a step further in terms of non-interference as regards minorities, because these rights are decided upon through the Council of Europe, the court of the Council of Europe. But, definitely, there’s neither a need for nor should any courts be involved, because if any citizen has been denied any right or if their rights are not equal with the rights of other citizens in the Republic of North Macedonia, we’re available to respond as institutions,” Zaev said on Tuesday.
He noted that he had attended the opening of a Bulgarian cultural center in the country, as well as seminars and conferences, and there were no issues in terms of people’s national self-determination.
“In fact, we’re proud of the ethnic diversity in the country, and I’ll give a most friendly response. The President of Bulgaria, Radev, raises an issue, so our President, the Government and the Parliament, the municipalities, we’re all available to respond to any question of any injustice to any citizen in our country,” said Zaev.
He firmly denied that citizens in North Macedonia have been attacked because they declare themselves as Bulgarians, underlining that all citizens in the country have equal rights.
“This is a multiethnic country, we equally respect everyone’s rights, even the rights of the smallest communities in the country. We fully respect everyone’s rights because in our country it’s all about civil rights, equal rights, and of course, equal obligations,” Zaev noted.
In addition, the PM sent a message to authorities in Sofia not to be taken in by any insinuations or misinformation.
“Once again I’m sending a strong message to neighboring Bulgaria that we need to be careful. We’ve always responded to any of their concerns, just as they have always responded to our concerns. We should not be taken in by any insinuations or misinformation. We can always check. We’re NATO members, we’re allies, we don’t need any intelligence services or special services to determine citizens’ rights. Citizens’ rights are sacred in our country, I believe this is also the case in Bulgaria, as it is in Europe and we need to set an example by resolving such issues,” Zaev pointed out.
Asked about the Action Plan and its alignment with Sofia, Zaev confirmed Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani’s statement that the document is almost fully aligned, and it’s only a matter of technical details so it can be fully defined.
He added that it is an Action Plan at a sectoral level, on cooperation and promoting cooperation in terms of infrastructure, education, health, labor and social policy, transport, energy, etc.
“The Action Plan that we proposed was complemented by ideas and thought from Bulgaria, and it is really acceptable. It is about boosting cooperation to bring investments. Economic cooperation is most acceptable and most positive for the citizens as it means job creation, our investments in Bulgaria, investments from Bulgaria to North Macedonia, and all this is related to wages, exports, GDP, etc. I can say there are several Bulgarian companies interested in energy projects,” the PM said, adding that activities to intensify cooperation are taking place on a daily basis.
