“The dispute over Bulgaria's position on Ukraine is completely unnecessary. It was made clear enough in Iliana Yotova's statement to the UN General Assembly. Our country has a different position, is trying to form a different type of message that it believes is important for resolving the conflict, but it is not appropriate to isolate ourselves from the common European positions.“ This was stated by MEP from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Group, Kristian Vigenin, in an interview for “Offensive“ on NOVA NEWS. He recalled that all EU member states had committed to the declaration on Ukraine and described the dramatization of the topic as a consequence of the election battle that had begun.
However, Vigenin criticized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the way in which the Bulgarian position was communicated.
„This is a purely symbolic way of expressing an attitude towards the conflict. But all this could have been avoided if the information had come clearly from the Foreign Ministry and had been explained in advance, and not afterwards“, he commented.
The MEP emphasized the president's position before the UN General Assembly: „Iliyana Yotova was one of the few who tried to defend a different and promising thesis that could stop the war. With this declaration, we will not stop the war, we are simply saying once again how bad Russia is. And this is not a working approach. The topic of a different approach was very clearly and transparently developed by Iliana Yotova. I think that is what we should talk about - what we can do differently, not what is in the declaration.“
Regarding the comparisons between Rumen Radev and Iliana Yotova, Vigenin pointed out that in recent months she has shown how she protects the national interest and the interests of citizens. “I am convinced that there will be less tension and that issues will be resolved more gently. Iliana Yotova has serious experience in communication and working with people, serious foreign policy and European experience. This will undoubtedly upgrade the presidential institution“, he said.
Commenting on his participation in the 25th meeting of the EU-North Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee in Skopje, Vigenin expressed his impression that the authorities already realize that they cannot abandon the commitments they have made if the country wants to become part of the EU. The first step is the inclusion of Bulgarians in the Constitution.
Vigenin said that he had also raised the case of Iva Mihaylova with his colleagues: “I raised the topic more in the context of a humanitarian issue, because first of all we need to think about the person Iva Mihaylova and how she should not be disabled, what the risk is. The colleagues showed understanding. This issue will be commented on and we will continue to raise it.“
According to him, the people who insist that North Macedonia fulfill its European commitments towards Bulgaria and the Bulgarians continue to be declared traitors. “The greatest betrayal towards North Macedonia was committed and continues to be committed by Prime Minister Mickoski. Because if this commitment had been fulfilled in 2022, today North Macedonia, together with Montenegro, would be on the threshold of membership, and not still unable to start negotiations“, he noted.
Vigenin drew attention to the fact that there is already an awareness that neither Bulgaria is “that scary“, nor will the fulfillment of the commitment lead to the destruction of the Macedonian identity.
“Our message was that this would clear the environment in which we can cooperate and open the path of North Macedonia to the European Union“, he concluded.
For contact with the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP:
https://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/