Foreign minister asked EU to express solidarity with Bulgaria over the Pendikov assault case

Bulgaria has asked EU countries to express solidarity with Sofia in connection with the tensions with North Macedonia and the pressure on the Bulgarian community there. This became clear from the words of caretaker Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov, who on January 23 participated in a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Foreign ministers of Bulgaria and North Macedonia both condemned the attack on the Bulgarian Cultural Club's Secretary in Ohrid

It is too early to say whether the other countries in the Union are in solidarity, because this item was not part of the agenda of the foreign ministers' meeting. However, Nikolay Milkov raised the issue with his counterparts at the end of the session and expects a reaction from the EU in the future.

It is not excluded that in the future Bulgaria will make use of its veto right over North Macedonia, but Minister Milkov commented that this should not happen for now.

"I informed my counterparts about what happened in Ohrid, but in a longer context. It is not only about this recent incident, it is about the fact that there is an escalation of tensions and an escalation of pressure on the Bulgarian community there. They started with the adoption of a legislative repression on the Bulgarian community and its right of association, which showed, as I said to counterparts, a remarkable consensus between the ruling and opposition parties on an anti-Bulgarian basis. This is a very serious sign, because the opposition and the ruling party do not get along on a number of issues. Then, it was followed by the setting of fire of the Bulgarian club (in Bitola – ed.), for which a suspended sentence was given, then followed three attacks on clubs and a shooting against one of them, and the perpetrators were never found. Finally it came to this case. I put these things in a gradation and asked for solidarity from other countries and that these issues be addressed in some form in the future," he said.

European Union foreign ministers today discussed new financial and military aid to Ukraine of €500 million from the peacekeeping instrument to buy weapons for the country.

"Russia continues with its systematic barbaric attacks against civilians. Everyone saw the horrific sight from the Dnieper, one of the deadliest attacks since the war began, which killed 40 people, including six children. Ukraine continues to fight back, and we will continue to support it. Ukraine should win this war, and we will do everything in our power to help it. It is nearly a year since Russia invaded Ukraine. We have also confirmed to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba that we are preparing an EU-Ukraine meeting on 2 February. This will be the first such forum since the war began and since Kiev is a candidate for EU membership. We have agreed on a seventh tranche of military aid worth EUR 500 million. The total military aid to Ukraine so far is €3.6 billion," said EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell.

The foreign ministers also began discussing a tenth package of sanctions against Russia.

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