The Foreign Ministry of the Republic of North Macedonia has come out with a strong-worded position on hate speech in Bulgarian parliament, and has handed the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry a note verbale.

The document reads that Skopje condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the poster boards with the words “Macedonia is Bulgaria” which the MPs from Vazrazhdane nationalist party held up during yesterday’s parliamentary discussion on whether the veto on the launch of EU accession negotiations with the Republic of North Macedonia should be lifted. The note also points to statements in a similar vein made from the parliamentary speaker’s podium because they run counter to European democratic values and to the goodneighbour agreement.

Skopje expects Bulgaria’s officials to condemn the hate speech and the territorial claims on the Republic of North Macedonia.