The idea of a meeting of the presidents of Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia, during the visit of Gordana Siljanovska to Sofia for the performance of the National Opera and Ballet of North Macedonia in the Sofia Opera and Ballet is on the Bulgarian side, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mutsunski in an interview with MRT1. broadcast BTA.
In his words, Siljanovska's idea of a focus on cultural diplomacy is good, because “one should always do what is possible for good neighborly relations”, and whether a shadow was deliberately cast on this visit or not, will become clear soon.< /p>
The topic of the photo, in which the Bulgarian tricolor and the EU flag are placed behind the Bulgarian president Rumen Radev and the president of North Macedonia Gordana Siljanovska, and the state flag of North Macedonia is absent, continues to be a leading issue in the country for the third day.
„We were aware of what happened. We clearly saw that there was a discrepancy between the agreed protocol and what happened in practice, but we decided, due to the specifics of the moment, to react the way we did,” Timcho Mutsunski said in the interview, according to whom they did not react on the spot, because “a verbal reaction is not a formal reaction and the diplomatic protocol very strictly regulates these issues”.
„If the other side (Bulgaria) approaches in good faith, as we do, then it is natural to apologize after such a protocol error. To say that it was a mistake and that there was no form of insult or humiliation. Then we will believe that the other party is also acting in good faith. I would hate to be disappointed with our neighbor and have no response. We will continue to be positive, but we will see after the reaction to this case, what are the intentions of the current president (of Bulgaria) and the caretaker government", said Mutsunski, who specified that at the working lunch in Sofia, which he attended there was also the state flag of North Macedonia, it passed in a friendly atmosphere and several topics were discussed, including Corridor 8, as well as the opening of the "Klepalo" checkpoint. between Strumyani and Berovo.
In response to a question why he himself, as Minister of Foreign Affairs, did not have a meeting with his Bulgarian counterpart, Mutsunski replied that there was such an idea from the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but it came a day before their visit to Sofia , the time coincided with the working lunch, and he himself did not have enough time to prepare this meeting.
Yesterday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Skopje summoned the Ambassador of Bulgaria to North Macedonia Zhelyazko Radukov, and the announcement from the institution says that during the meeting "concern was expressed about the deviation from the agreed protocol regarding of photographing the presidents” Gordana Silyanovska and Rumen Radev, during their meeting in Sofia last Friday, and additional clarification was requested from the Bulgarian side.
The President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Gordana Siljanovska, characterized her conversation with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Friday in Sofia as “long, friendly, respectful” with a “heated dialogue”, aimed not at the problems and disagreements, but at what the two countries can do together, BTA reported.
In an interview with TV Sitel, she said that an invitation to attend the performance of the opera “Nabucco”, a production of the National Opera and Ballet of North Macedonia, came from the director of the Sofia Opera and Ballet Plamen Kartalov, after the performance in Skopje in May of “Valkyrie”.
According to her, her office contacted the presidency in Sofia to invite Rumen Radev and his wife to attend the performance, an invitation which was accepted. She described her visit to Sofia as a visit "with a cultural purpose".
„I know the protocol rules of Bulgaria, as well as many other countries, I also know the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. I know that the host sets the protocol, I know that there were examples when other statesmen came, but the state symbols were not placed. But what surprised me, and I don't think it was done on purpose, is why I wasn't informed about it. The last stipulation was that there would be a photo from the one-on-one meeting (of the two presidents), of course there would not be a photo from the lunch, but I did not know that I would also have to be photographed in a room where photo sessions are done (Hall of Coats of Arms).
When we left (with President Radev), I thought we were going to the room where the “private“ meeting would take place. When I entered the room, I saw the two flags and had to think about what to do. My one thought was that if I left I would cause a scandal, and the other thought that the host had set the rules and that the host, not me, was in the wrong. At that moment, I decided that it is better not to cause a scandal, Siljanovska explained in the interview, indicating that she was influenced by the tragic event with the two pilots who died in Bulgaria and considered that her reaction to leave would mean, that the visit will not happen, and this cast another shadow over the performance of the National Opera and Ballet of North Macedonia.
In her words, neither her protocol nor the ambassador of North Macedonia were informed that “according to the protocol rules for such type of visits, it is not necessary to place the flag of the guest”, therefore the protocol of her office will not bear responsibility.
„I responsibly claim that during the meeting "four-faced" and during the lunch with Radev there was a heated dialogue, but the dialogue was not focused on the problems and disagreements, but on what we can do together and that this meeting was a first step towards that, and I did not for a moment forget the Macedonian national interests, knowing , that he (Radev) also has the right to present his own. I think I managed in a decent, cultural, presidential and statesmanlike way to tell him what our position is and what I expect", emphasized Gordana Siljanovska.
In response to a question raised by Mitkoski's words that "Bulgaria's goal is to show muscles", whether she felt something similar during the conversation with Radev, Siljanovska replied that “the perception of the prime minister is his perception&rdquo ; and by the reactions he sees that many react in a similar way, “but we have to learn sometimes not to react with emotions, but with reason”.
„It was a friendly conversation full of ideas... The visit was very successful”, Siljanovska said.
When asked if she had spoken with the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Hristijan Mitskoski, about the meeting with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Siljanovska said that this would happen before his departure for Brussels on September 19.
When asked if he expects the change of members of the historical commission to affect relations between North Macedonia and Bulgaria, the president of North Macedonia said that “it is not good for science to function under the umbrella of politics”.
„I think the process is in danger of being politicized and we have seen that. I cannot assess the work of the previous commission and what the current one will do, but a scientific conversation is always useful, Siljanovska also said.