President Pendarovski Has Audience with Pope Francis in Rome

President of Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski had an audience in Rome with the Head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Sovereign of the Vatican City State Pope Francis. Pendarovski, along with his Bulgarian counterpart Rumen Radev, paid an official visit to Rome, where the two presidents observed the Holiday dedicated to Ss. Cyril and Methodius. At the meeting, Pendarovski and Pope Francis discussed the good relations between Macedonia and the Holy See, and exchanged ideas for improvement of the cooperation in numerous fields. Later on Thursday, Pendarovski and Radev visited the tomb of St. Cyril at the Basilica Santa Maria Maggiore where they laid wreaths at the memorial plaques set there by both official Skopje and official Sofia. “We want to send a message that there are people in the Balkans who can talk in the European language when it comes to our current issues and bilateral disputes. I am glad me and Radev understand each other very well, and I hope our talks will influence our respective government to make efforts to reach agreement over the bilateral disputes and secure the good future for our people,” Pendarovski said.