On Monday, North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry voiced a stance on, as it said, the escape of Iva Mihajlova to Bulgaria. As the institution pointed out, that, as well as the 23-year-old’s high-level reception in Sofia, undermine trust-building efforts and run contrary to declared commitments toward developing good-neighborly relations.
“The rule of law must not be selective, nor can it depend on the ethnic affiliation of an individual”, it said on Monday.
Mihajlova told Bulgarian media that she had crossed the border legally, by using the IDs, but according to North Macedonia’s Interior Ministry, there is no recorded exit of her from the country. In Bulgaria, the country’s Interior Minister, Ivan Demerdzhiev, announced an inquiry into the circumstances under which Iva Mihajlova crossed the border, as well as an assessment of whether she requires security protection.
Bulgarian Foreign Minister Petrova-Chamova said her institution had nothing to do with Mihajlova’s crossing, but added that a humanitarian case, in her view, had led to desperate actions. Bulgaria’s President, Iotova, on the other hand, announced a meeting with Mihajlova.