Sofia expects clear guarantees from Skopje regarding the rights of citizens with Bulgarian national feeling and fulfillment of the 2017 Friendship Agreement, said Bulgarian Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev at bilateral meetings with EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhei and Spanish Foreign Minister works, EU and cooperation, Jose Manuel Albarez Bueno.

According to BGNES, the meetings, which discussed the prospects for the start of negotiations for Northern Macedonia for EU membership, were held in Barcelona within the Sixth Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean and the EU Ministerial Meeting with the Southern Neighboring Partner Countries. .

"The Bulgarian side stressed its proactive efforts in recent months to resolve outstanding issues with Skopje, in order to guarantee the rights of citizens with Bulgarian identity and the implementation of the 2017 Agreement on Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation. "We expect clear guarantees from the Republic of Northern Macedonia for this," the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said.

Today and tomorrow, Stoev is staying in Riga, where he is participating in the meeting of the foreign ministers of the NATO member states, which is also attended by the Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani.

As part of the NATO ministerial meeting, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry said, a meeting will be held with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and partners Sweden and Finland on current developments in the Western Balkans.