President Radev: It is High Time to Stop the Anti-Bulgarian Ideology in North Macedonia

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev made a sharp statement to the authorities in the Republic of North Macedonia. He said, "it was high time the anti-Bulgarian ideology swirling in our neighboring country to stop."

The head of state's statement comes after the president and prime minister of North Macedonia spoke negatively about the opening of a Bulgarian cultural center in Bitola named after the revolutionary Ivan Mihailov, who according to Stevo Pendarovski and Dimitar Kovachevski collaborated with the Hitler regime.

However, according to President Radev, this rhetoric "deliberately poisons relations between the two countries and undermines the path of the Republic of North Macedonia to the EU".

The head of state also said that politicians in the neighboring country were trying to build an identity based on the falsifications of the Communist International:

"And if we talk about fascism, it should be clear that Ivan Mihailov was the man who refused Hitler to involve Macedonia in a fratricidal war with Bulgaria. Not Ivan Mihailov, but other people after the establishment of the Yugoslav dictatorship in Macedonia killed and inquisited tens of thousands in concentration camps only because they decided to continue to call themselves Bulgarians, not Macedonians. This is real fascism. "

The President reiterated his position on the provision of weapons by Bulgaria to Ukraine. He is adamant that our country must continue to help all people seeking salvation from the war, and Bulgaria will continue to help Ukraine within its capabilities.

"Let it be very clear that, unlike other countries that are far from the conflict, Bulgaria has a huge diaspora, historical. We have...