The Bulgarian President Rumen Radev from Berlin once again signaled that Sofia does not intend to withdraw from the veto on Northern Macedonia in the EU. After the meetings with the German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on Monday, Radev told a briefing with Bulgarian journalists that Sofia's position had been understood by his German interlocutors.

"I am extremely pleased with the understanding of the Bulgarian position on Northern Macedonia. "In a situation where we are working for a common European position and for the European institutions, we should not allow our national position for Northern Macedonia to become a hostage to the conflict in Ukraine and this tendency to intensify," Radev said.

There were no statements from the German side after the meetings with Radev - neither from President Steinmeier, nor from Chancellor Scholz.

Radev said that Bulgaria "as a responsible EU member should work to integrate partners, not problems".

"It is in the interest of the long-term perspective of EU stability."

In that context, Radev believes that the beginning of Northern Macedonia's negotiations in the EU would be abandonment of European principles.

"It is amazing how Europe, built on the example of the rest of the world in terms of democracy and human rights, in tolerating hate speech, is ready to turn its back on those principles and values. "We should not allow the identification of Macedonianism, of ideologies from the former Yugoslavia and the Comintern, to find a place in the EU," said Radev from Berlin.