The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mickoski, condemned what happened in front of the Bulgarian embassy in Skopje today at noon, when a man set fire to two of the diplomatic cars of the Bulgarian embassy, BTA reported.
In an interview with TV ALSAT-M, Mickoski said that “the person who committed this criminal-legal event has been found and is currently being questioned in order to see the motives that contributed to what happened during the day, to see what inspired this person to do what he did“.
The Prime Minister of North Macedonia refrained from answering the question “whether this is an isolated case” with the argument that the arrested man from Skopje is being questioned and expects more information from the interrogation, which according to him “will provide answers to many questions”.
When asked whether he had had communication with Bulgarian institutions about the incident, Mickoski said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Skopje “is in constant communication”, and Foreign Minister Timcho Mucunski informed him “that he had spoken to his colleague”.
“So, from our side, the position is clear, (as well as) that of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We categorically condemn him, we found the person in less than 3 hours and as institutions we have once again shown that we function flawlessly. So let's see what the motives for this criminal-legal event are“, said Mickoski.
A little earlier, the Ministry of Interior in North Macedonia informed that a 44-year-old man from Skopje, who is suspected of being the perpetrator of the arson, was arrested and the clothes he was wearing during the arson were found.
I categorically condemn the arson of diplomatic cars on the Bulgarian embassy in Skopje, President Iliana Yotova stated in a statement to the media, BTA reported.
According to her, this is not an ordinary criminal act, but an unacceptable attack on a diplomatic mission, which calls into question the ability of the authorities in the Republic of North Macedonia to guarantee the security of foreign diplomatic missions in accordance with their international obligations.
The police in Skopje have arrested a 44-year-old man, for whom there are reasonable suspicions that he is the perpetrator who set fire to the two diplomatic cars in front of the Bulgarian embassy today, the Ministry of Internal Affairs in North Macedonia reported.
The man, with the initials I. D., is from Skopje and is currently at the police station.
„The clothes that the person was wearing during the crime have also been found. "In coordination with the competent prosecutor, measures are being taken to fully clarify the case, after which the relevant criminal charges will be brought against the person under urgent proceedings," the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.