Radev reiterated that the main priority of Bulgaria's foreign policy remains the European integration of the Western Balkans. Yet Bulgaria also expects to protect the rights of people with Bulgarian identity in North Macedonia, as well as not to distort Bulgarian history in North Macedonian textbooks.

The European perspective of North Macedonia was also the focus of the president's meetings with European Council President Charles Michel, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi, and US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Boyse. "The problems in the bilateral relations between Bulgaria and North Macedonia can be solved only in a direct dialogue, which will lead to real results," the Bulgarian president stressed at the meetings.