Radev's advisor: If a statesman from a neighboring country comes to drink coffee in Bulgaria, should we highlight his flag?
The visit of the president of the Republic of North Macedonia to Bulgaria was on the occasion of a cultural event - it was neither state nor work. For this reason, the Macedonian flag was not placed in front of the coat of arms of the presidency, because such visits do not require strict observance of state protocol, explains Dimitar Stojanov, former minister and current advisor to Bulgarian President Radev.
After President Gordana Siljanovska Davkova's visit to Sofia on Friday and the meeting with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, the Macedonian public stirred up the joint photo in the closed space of Radev's presidential office, taken after the meeting of the two presidents, in which the Macedonian national flag is not displayed next to the president. but only Bulgarian.
From the cabinet of the president Gordana Siljanovska Davkova announced that they will request an official explanation from the neighboring country whether the display of the Bulgarian flag next to it is a protocol oversight or a deliberate procedure and a deviation from the agreement.
– The meeting and joint lunch took place in an extremely friendly atmosphere, from the welcome to the end. What cast a shadow on the event was the deviation from the agreed protocol for the meeting, according to which, there should not have been any photos within the closed space. But unfortunately, before the start of the tete-a-tete meeting, President Radev invited the President to take a joint photo in front of the Bulgarian flag, although such a move and act was not foreseen, nor agreed upon - emphasized the President's office.
Radev's adviser, Dimitar Stojanov, told BNT that the meeting between Rumen Radev and Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova was extremely constructive and had a good tone. The future state visits of RSM and Bulgaria have been agreed upon - this Stojanov defines it as a step forward in the dialogue between the two countries.
When asked if the visit of the president of the Republic of North Macedonia is a provocation, Dimitar Stojanov answered:
- I would not like to talk about provocation in this case, while we are looking for a step forward in the development of our relations. It is not correct to interfere with flags in this situation. If a statesman from a neighboring country comes to drink coffee in Bulgaria, should we put flags for him in the establishment? Unnecessary worsening of the situation - he commented.
In order to fully investigate the case of not displaying the Macedonian flag next to President Siljanovska Davkova, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MNRiNT) will call today the Bulgarian ambassador to the country Zheljasko Radukov who just last week by handing over the letters of credential in Villa Vodno took up his duties.
Yesterday, Macedonian diplomats commented to the media that Siljanovska's visit to Sofia was not official and was not at the invitation of the Bulgarian side, which is why the meeting at the Presidency in Sofia was informal and therefore there was no need to display the country's flag during the visit as required by the protocol during official state meetings.
