Bulgaria Criticizes North Macedonia Over Recent Incident, Citing Previous Attacks

In a statement, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly criticized the authorities in North Macedonia, linking the latest incident to previous events.

“The Ministry expresses deep concern that such a brazen act is the result of a systemic lack of response by the competent institutions of the Republic of North Macedonia to earlier attacks and acts of vandalism targeting properties related to Bulgaria,” the statement reads.

Bulgaria added that institutional passivity and tolerance of “hate speech” have created an environment in which such criminal acts are encouraged and escalated.

Bulgaria has delivered clear demands to the authorities in Skopje following the recent incident:

The immediate identification and criminal prosecution of the perpetrator. Ensuring the security of Bulgarian diplomatic missions and their personnel.

“The institutions in North Macedonia are expected to clearly and unequivocally distance themselves from manifestations of hatred and work to create a fundamentally different public narrative regarding relations with Bulgaria,” the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated.

Sofia also warned that it is closely monitoring the case and “reserves the right to take additional measures” to protect its interests.