Iliana Yotova: Bulgaria ready to hold talks with North Macedonia but refuses ultimatums

Bulgarian President Iliana Yotova said Sofia is willing to talk with North Macedonia but rejected any ultimata or concessions that would contradict EU policy, commenting on messages sent from Skopje by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Yotova said she is moderately optimistic and will ask Bulgaria’s foreign minister, Petrova Chamova, to show her the diplomatic note sent by Mucunski requesting a meeting in Sofia. She also urged that the issue of Iva Mihajlova be settled first.

Yotova’s conditions and the wider diplomatic context

“I still do not know the details of the tête‑à‑tête conversation with Mrs von der Leyen. I hope that this time she was exceptionally firm. For this conversation to be serious, Mr Mickoski must read very carefully the EU policy on enlargement. The Republic of North Macedonia must forget that this is a bilateral issue, as he tries to present it. We have always been open to talks with them, but talks without ultimatums and without yielding on European policy. Bulgaria is part of the European Union and we cannot allow a country that has embarked on the European path not to accept the values and virtues of the European Union, and even less to speak in an ultimatum tone, but let us remain moderately optimistic.”

Prime Minister Mickoski said yesterday that if Bulgaria refuses the proposed meeting, his government’s position would be confirmed; he called it unwise for Sofia to reject the offer, while noting that the decision remains a sovereign choice for the Bulgarian side.

Analysts see movement in the diplomatic exchanges and consider talks with Sofia a possible way to unblock North Macedonia’s EU accession process before the end of the year. Aleksandar Krzhalovski of MCMS described the development as a realistic chance, pointing to signals in von der Leyen’s messages and recent coverage that, he argued, contain steps in the direction his government has sought.

Von der Leyen, during her visit to Skopje, said a first step to unblock the accession process had been agreed. She did not specify whether the EU would take a direct role in future talks with Sofia, but urged the Macedonian government to initiate meetings with Bulgarian authorities. Von der Leyen also said that once the talks are unblocked and a roadmap is obtained, the EU will welcome North Macedonian identity, language and culture.

Photo: press material from the event