Petkov: I’ll Not Allow Provocations to Damage Good Sofia-Skopje Relations

Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov said during his address in the Bulgarian parliament that he will no longer allow any kind of provocations to damage the improving relations between Sofia and Skopje. Petkov stated this as a response to questions from journalists about why he allegedly removed PM of North Macedonia Dimitar Kovacevski from a photo he took during the Munich Security Conference. “Many people both in Sofia and Skopje try to do rather stupid things only to obstruct the dialogue between our government which we can see that is improving our bilateral relations. I shall not allow any more provocations of this type. The integration of North Macedonia in the EU is our mutual long-year strategic pledge. Still, the respect and protection of the rights of Bulgarians remain a top priority for us, which is why we need to cease with the hate speech, so that it does not happen for North Macedonia to reduce its chances for accession in the EU,” Petkov said.