Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva says it is a fact that Bulgaria’s policy on the Balkans has been visible and active.
“I paid a visit to all regional countries in the first couple of months after assuming office. This was my goal as minister. Of course, I also visited Romania and Greece as neighboring countries and EU members. I continually met with counterparts at various forums. Bulgaria’s goal – not only of this government – is to have good relations with all neighbors,” Zaharieva told Sofia daily 24 Chasa.
On relations with North Macedonia, the Bulgarian FM says Sofia has always supported Skopje, even in its most difficult times, and will continue to do so.
“I did not want to see so much talk over the media, which led to harsh rhetoric, since it is difficult to deny words that have already been spoken. I understand that we oftentimes speak to our own audiences but it is not right to win election campaigns in the 21st century by speaking against any neighbor. It cannot continue like this,” says Zaharieva.
She adds it is no secret that Belgrade is very influential in Skopje and there are certainly tendencies to bring the Serbian language, businesses and institutions closer, a trend that has been present for the past 30 years.
The FM notes that Bulgaria’s objective is not to damage Skopje-Belgrade relations.
“They should be friends. We just want them to foster a friendly relationship with us too. Let’s all be friends. Let’s be connected and let’s build together. It’s not right to not have a railway link with North Macedonia. It’s not right to put administrative barriers for Bulgarian companies. The attempt to portray Bulgaria as a 19th-century historic revanchist is utterly unacceptable, because our problems are real. The most important thing is that emotions go down and that we use pragmatism,” says Zaharieva.
