Relations With The Republic of Macedonia
On 24 July 2006, at the opening of a working conference with the heads of Bulgarian embassies and consulates abroad, Kalfin became the first Bulgarian Foreign Minister to publicly voice his opinion against the mininterpretation and misappropriation of the Bulgarian history by the Republic of Macedonia, saying that:
| “ | We have declared our support for Macedonia's membership. But I have to say immediately that it would not be normal for this support to be unconditional. There are criteria that have to be fulfilled. We would particularly much insist on the observance of the principles of good-neighbour relations and the lack of aggression towards the Bulgarian nation or history on behalf of the Macedonian authorities. | ” |
On 28 July 2006 Kalfin appealed to the Skopje authorities to replace the director of the Macedonian cultural and informational center in Sofia Stefan Vlahov-Mitsov:
| “ | The Macedonian authorities should clearly prove that it is inadmissible for an official of a diplomatic representation abroad to participate in that country's political life. | ” |
His statement was provoked by Mitsov's alleged participation in the management of UMO Ilinden-Pirin, a controversial party largely regarded as Macedonist and anti-Bulgarian by the Bulgarian public.
Read more about this topic: Ivaylo Kalfin
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