Svetlan Stoev

The diversion by Belarus of a Ryanair flight to a forced landing in Minsk was air piracy, Bulgaria's caretaker Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev said on May 25.

Visiting European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi held working meetings with Bulgarian caretaker Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev and with GERB leader and former prime minister Boyko Borissov on Friday.

Bulgaria's caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Svetlan Stoev and Minister of Economy, Kiril Petkov, and the US Ambassador H.E. Herro Mustafa on May 17 discussed topics from the shared agenda of the Bulgaria-US Strategic Dialogue, as well as the Bulgarian chairmanship of the Three Seas Initiative.

Bulgaria's caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Svetlan Stoev, the Minister of Economy, Kiril Petkov, and the US Ambassador H.E. Herro Mustafa discussed today topics from the shared agenda of the Bulgaria-US Strategic Dialogue, as well as the Bulgarian chairmanship of the Three Seas Initiative.

Bulgaria has said it will not change its opposition to North Macedonia's accession to the EU following a meeting between Bulgaria's new caretaker Foreign Minister Svetlan Stoev and Deputy Prime Minister for Judicial Reform Ekaterina Zaharieva. 

Bulgaria is blocking Skopje due to historical and linguistic disputes. It is under growing pressure to change its stance.

Bulgaria's caretaker government led by Stefan Janev will not change Sofia's stance on blocking the start of EU negotiation for North Macedonia in a dispute over history, language and identity.

The news further diminishes the chances of a speedy breakthrough in bilateral talks before June, when the EU has pencilled in the official start of talks.

Bulgaria's framework position on North Macedonia has been adopted with consensus by all political forces in parliament. We do not have the authority to change this position. The caretaker cabinet and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will do what depends on them to continue the dialogue, the new caretaker FM Svetlan Stoev said.

Stefan Yanev (left) in Brussels in February 2017 with then US Defence Secretary James Mattis. Photo: EPA/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

The caretaker cabinet was appointed after the failure by several political parties - outgoing ruling party GERB, There's Such a Nation and the Bulgarian Socialist Party - to muster a coalition after the inconclusive results of elections on April 4.