Bulgaria’s stand on a start of negotiations with North Macedonia and the EU is clear, and it cannot be changed at the upcoming General Affairs Council, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Teodora Genchovska said on Wednesday, commenting on her counterpart Bujar Osmani’s stands. “This is not a tennis or football match so that we speak which team or which court has the ball. Our stand is exceptionally clear, we have a national consensus over this topic. I don’t know how to make things clearer to Mr Osmani,” she said on Thursday. According to Bulgarian media, Genchovska refuted also the accusations by North Macedonia’s PM, Dimitar Kovacevski, that her country has taken Skopje and Tirana hostage. “They are not fulfilling the deal, we need concrete steps. We’ve already lost five months in talks and interviews. We’re waiting for the realisation of the deal to start,” the Bulgarian politician said.