Skopje, 7 February 2023 (MIA) – Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikolay Milkov said at a press conference Tuesday that the secretary of the “Tsar Boris III” Bulgarian club in Ohrid, Hristijan Pendikov, who was transported to Bulgaria with a Bulgarian government plane after an incident in Ohrid which left him injured, will receive Bulgarian nationality as soon as possible, Bulgaria’s public service BNT reports.

Pendikov, who was discharged Monday from the Military Medical Academy in Sofia, according to Milkov, will also receive temporary accommodation during his stay in Bulgaria. Milkov said that Pendikov “fears for his life” if he returns to North Macedonia and that is also why they are considering the option of providing him with personal security.

Milkov noted that “despite the efforts to unfreeze the relations between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, there has been no success thus far.”

“The efforts to upgrade and calm the relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia were actually undermined by specific actions of the authorities in Skopje. This, of course, marks a new, even lower point in our relations,” said Milkov.

On Monday, Pendikov met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, who said that the Bulgarian state “will not tolerate violence against Bulgarians in North Macedonia, and against its citizens, and will make use of all national and international instruments to protect their rights.” ad/nn/