Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry summons the Ambassador of Croatia

By order of the caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Svetlan Stoev, the Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to Bulgaria Jasna Ognjanovac was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 19. She was received by Rumen Alexandrov, Director General for European Affairs. The reason for the meeting was a statement by Croatian President Zoran Milanovic after the Summit of Slovenia and Croatia with the countries of the Western Balkans, held on May 17, 2021 in Bardo near Kranj, in which he sharply criticised Bulgaria's policy towards European integration of the Republic of North Macedonia.

Before Ambassador Ognjanovac, the Director General described President Milanovic's statement as unacceptable and unjustified, which is disappointing given not only the excellent bilateral dialogue between Sofia and Zagreb and the unanimity on a number of topics on the European and regional agenda, but also in view of the fact that as neighbours of the region, Bulgaria and Croatia are naturally connected by the common interest of reform, stabilisation and EU integration of the countries of the Western Balkans.
It was emphasised that this process should be based on the respective achievements of each candidate country, while respecting the fundamental values ​​of the Union, incl. on the principle of good neighbourliness.

In response to a request for clarification of the reason for President Milanovic's statement, Ambassador Ognjanovac undertook to convey to Zagreb the position expressed by Bulgaria, noting the need for co-operation between Bulgaria and Croatia in order to ensure the stability of the Western Balkans region and its European perspective.