Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski and Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Velislava Petrova will meet Thursday in Sofia for bilateral talks, Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said Wednesday.
“We received the official confirmation of the bilateral meeting yesterday, PM Mickoski said.
Mucunski and Petrova will meet during Thursday’s international ministerial conference on the strategic importance of Corridor VIII, says the PM, adding that the meeting may be an informal one.
“Let’s see what format the meeting will take. Whether it will be a pull-aside or a bilateral one on the sidelines of the Corridor VIII summit, this is still a multilateral event. So let’s see how the host will organize it,” added Mickoski
Asked about the message to be conveyed by the Macedonian foreign minister, the PM said he would highlight the importance of dialogue.
“Our messages are clear,” Mickoski said. “Only through dialogue can we find a solution to this situation we are in right now. We want good neighborly relations and we want to achieve our strategic goal of joining the EU as soon as possible.”
Commenting on Bulgaria’s President Iliana Iotova’s recent statement urging the Macedonian government to focus on EU enlargement policy rather than present the dispute as bilateral, Mickoski said: “Thank you for the advice.”