This afternoon, the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs came out with a reaction to today's celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Gotse Delchev. The statement published on their website indicates that today's celebration of the 151st anniversary of the birth of Delchev did not contribute to the improvement of good neighborly relations and that it will be noted that the Macedonian authorities did not allow Bulgarian citizens to pay respect to the great man.

- In the period after 1991, the Republic of Bulgaria constantly shows a sincere desire to develop good neighborly relations with the Republic of North Macedonia. After the signing of the Agreement on Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation in 2017, a practice was established for the joint commemoration of historical figures from our common history, such as Georgi (Goce) Nikolov Delchev, without a doubt - the announcement states.

Unfortunately, as stated, the celebration of the 151st anniversary of his birth did not contribute to the improvement of bilateral relations between Sofia and Skopje.

- We state with deep regret that February 4.2.2023, XNUMX will go down in history as the date on which the authorities in North Macedonia, with extremely unconvincing reasons and in violation of the assurances given in advance, did not allow the Bulgarian citizens to pay respect to the work and life of Delchev . The Ministry of Foreign Affairs defines today's behavior of the government in North Macedonia as humiliating and unacceptable towards the Bulgarian people and the Republic of Bulgaria - the statement says.

Such actions, as it stands, are evaluated by Sofia as a failure to fulfill the obligation to ensure unimpeded access for all well-intentioned citizens who want to pay respect to the great revolutionary.

- This, together with the reluctance of the delegations of Bulgaria and North Macedonia to jointly lay a wreath, represents a deviation from the established good practices and undermines the efforts of the Republic of Bulgaria in order to strengthen good neighborliness. Today, the actions of the authorities in North Macedonia caused serious damage to the process of restoring trust, despite the efforts of Prime Minister Galab Donev, who initiated a de-escalation process in a complex situation, and Deputy Prime Minister for Public Order and Security and Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Demerdzhiev, who he visited Skopje precisely for this purpose on January 30 of this year, as well as his visit today - the announcement states.

According to the information available to the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bulgarian citizens were not allowed to enter the territory of North Macedonia for hours at the border crossings on the Macedonian side due to arguments of a technical nature. Then, as stated, some of the Bulgarian citizens received official refusals to enter the territory of North Macedonia, while others returned due to the long hours of waiting.

-. Among those who are affected by these restrictive measures are journalists, for whom the basis was "a threat to public order, national security, public health or the international relations of the Republic of North Macedonia" - the Bulgarian MFA states.

From there, they point out that there is information about violence by the border authorities of North Macedonia and that at the same time, an "extremely surprising but unsuccessful attempt to limit the number of people in the Bulgarian official delegation during its worship in the church of St. Salvation".

The Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke with the Ambassador of North Macedonia in Sofia, Agnesa Rousi, with a request to restore freedom of movement.

- The same issue was raised several times in Skopje by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs Ivan Demerdziev. Once again, we found that the statements and assurances we received from the representatives of the authorities in North Macedonia did not correspond to the situation on the ground. This approach in no way contributes to a constructive and benevolent dialogue, the Bulgarian MFA points out.

Regarding the information about the arrested Bulgarian citizens, the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Skopje officially addressed the local authorities with a request for additional information, although such information, as indicated in the announcement, should have been sent immediately by the authorities.

- They are expected to be charged according to an urgent procedure - the Bulgarian MFA states.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sofia appeals to Bulgarian citizens who have been refused in writing to enter the territory of North Macedonia to inform the Ministry in order to take the necessary actions through diplomatic channels and to inform international partners.

- We remind you that the free movement of people is one of the basic principles of the functioning of the EU. In addition, this is a concrete measure to strengthen good neighborly relations. If necessary, Bulgaria is ready to provide technical assistance to ensure the smooth functioning of the border checkpoint. At least two honest partners are needed to establish good neighborly relations. It is more and more difficult to recognize in the behavior of the authorities in Skopje a real desire to build the necessary trust, friendship and cooperation - it is indicated in today's reaction of the Bulgarian MFA to honoring the birthday of Gotse Delchev.