Skopje, 8 February 2023 (MIA) – VMRO-DPMNE leader Hristijan Mickoski in response to a reporter’s question Wednesday, commented on the secretary of the Bulgarian club “Tsar Boris III”, Hristijan Pendikov, who was transported to Bulgaria with a Bulgarian government plane after he was physically assaulted in Ohrid, and the announcements that he will receive Bulgarian citizenship, saying that Sofia politicized the case for political points during the election campaign.

“The fact that this person became a VIP in Sofia, proves that this whole situation has been politicized. But if I were a Bulgarian citizen seeing that Pendikov is receiving greater rights than me, I would be ashamed of the leadership of my country. And I would be ashamed of the politicians of my country for supporting this individual who they barely know. If they had made an effort to find out more about this individual, they would’ve found out that he deserves anything but a VIP treatment, and they would’ve come to the conclusion that this is an individual who does not enjoy any respect in the environment in which he was raised. And if they had inquired a little more, they would’ve uncovered the real reason for the incident,” said Mickoski.

The opposition leader expressed his regret that the Sofia politicians decided to politicize the case, thinking it would win them political points in the election campaign.

“But I think it will have the opposite effect, many potential voters will be put off by the behavior of Sofia officials. I know many colleagues from the university and the business community in Bulgaria, who have much greater predispositions to receive a VIP treatment than this individual. Unfortunately, as you can see, they are being ignored by the Bulgarian politicians, because they’ve decided to politicize the case ahead of the elections and the election campaign at the beginning of April,” said Mickoski.

Commenting on this issue on Tuesday, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski said that the Bulgarian officials can grant citizenship or accommodation to anyone, and that North Macedonia cannot meddle in their decisions and activities, just as no one, he said, can meddle in our affairs if we were to decide to do the same.

Apart from Bulgarian citizenship, the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikolay Milkov, said Tuesday that Pendikov will be provided with temporary accommodation during his stay in Bulgaria. Additionally, Milkov said that Pendikov “fears for his life” if he returns to North Macedonia and as a result might be provided with his own personal security. ad/nn/