Sofia, 23 May 2023 (MIA) — North Macedonia's ongoing behavior toward Bulgaria is certainly not helping accelerate its integration into the EU, Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Ivan Kondov told Bulgarian National Radio following an informal meeting of EU and Western Balkans foreign ministers on Monday.

According to BNR, Kondov stressed the importance of honoring the obligations undertaken by North Macedonia.

"Some colleagues raised the topic of faster enlargement," the Bulgarian foreign minister said.

"On our behalf, I pointed out that it is extremely important [for North Macedonia] to meet all obligations, including the change of the Constitution."

Kondov said that remarks about Bulgaria given in some contexts, such as Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski's comparing Sofia's attitude toward the country to that of Russia toward Ukraine, as well as its "human rights violations" were "not the way to North Macedonia's faster integration."

In response to a reporter's question whether this position of Bulgaria had found approval among other ministers at the meeting, Kondov said that "be it as it may, many countries said the EU is an alliance based on values and all requirements for European integration need to be met."

Kondov also said he had met with Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani and asked him to explain Prime Minister Kovachevski's statement.

Osmani, Kondov said, told him that Kovachevski was referring to specific politicians and not to Bulgaria's politics in general. "But then I asked him why he had mentioned Bulgaria and not the specific politician in this situation," Kondov said.

Addressing the general debate at the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavík titled "United for Europe" last week, Kovachevski said the discourse used in Bulgaria toward North Macedonia was similar to the discourse used by the Russian Federation toward Ukraine.

He said accusations made at the summit by the Bulgarian representative were completely unfounded and came from a country that did not comply with European Court of Human Rights judgements and the Council of Europe's standards in the fields of human rights.

"It is unacceptable to abuse such accusations for political purposes, especially during this crucial time for the future of Europe. North Macedonia has been internationally recognized as a functional, modern multi-ethnic society in which everyone's rights are respected. All reports confirm this," Kovachevski said. mr/