The Minister of Foreign Affairs (of the Republic of Northern Macedonia), Bujaar Osmani, is taking part in the first meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council with the ministers of the Western Balkans.

Osmani said that it was up to Bulgaria to use the political moment to save the region's trust in the EU, the MIA correspondent from Brussels reported.

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Relations Bulgaria - RS Macedonia 371

This is the news of the day in the Republic of Northern Macedonia, selected by the Media Information Agency (MIA) for publication by BTA under the agreement on information exchange and professional cooperation, which provides for daily national news agencies of Bulgaria and the Republic of Northern Macedonia to directly exchange selected from the other agency news of the day from the respective country, and the other agency to publish it on its website without change with explicit indication and citation of its partner as a source.

Kovachevski: There is no agreed joint decision that could be the basis for an agreement with Bulgaria

For the first time today, the six Western Balkan foreign ministers were invited to be part of the EU's regular formal Council of Foreign Ministers.

The topic of the meeting was the war in Ukraine, its consequences and Russia's influence in the region.

Speaking to MIA, Minister Osmani said he had warned his EU counterparts about the economic and political consequences of the conflict in the region, as well as the need to save EU confidence right now by unblocking the negotiation process with northern Macedonia.

For the Macedonian side, Bulgaria is on the move, Northern Macedonia has fulfilled everything that is required of it.

"I will repeat, the ball is in the Republic of Bulgaria.

The Republic of Bulgaria must decide whether to use this moment for the whole region after the events in Ukraine and whether the EU will take the strategic leadership in the region.

The Republic of Northern Macedonia was a constructive partner in the negotiations, in fulfilling the criteria.

I am afraid that the moment we have now may be lost.

"As I told the Foreign Affairs Council, the greatest gift for Russia will be in the region to destroy trust in the EU," Osmani told MIA, stressing that there is currently no agreement between the two countries (Bulgaria and the Republic of Northern Macedonia). to be the basis for signing a contract, but that ways to include different approaches in a comprehensive solution are being considered.

Osmani said this today to the 27 EU ministers, including Bulgarian Minister Teodora Genchovska, who, according to MIA sources, did not show flexibility at today's meeting.

In the event that Bulgaria blocks Northern Macedonia again in June, Osmani says we will have to "sit down and see" how to proceed.

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"What will be most lost is the political moment, because in both countries I see less and less political capital that can be focused on reaching a solution between the two countries, and hence on the European perspective. I hope that our Bulgarian partners will recognize the current moment, and what will happen next we will have to sit down and see, "said the Minister.

At the same time, through his foreign minister, Northern Macedonia announced today that the EU must help the country cope with the consequences of the war: the energy crisis, inflation, record rise in commodity prices, in parallel with Russia's declaration of "enemy" by northern Macedonia. country "due to its accession to Western sanctions.

"Our attitude towards Russia is our moral and strategic conviction, this is the true side of history, but we share the consequences with the EU. I had such meetings today at the European Commission, pointing out the economic consequences in this country. The EC has already decided that the countries from the Western Balkans can enter into the joint provision of gas supplies, we talked about macro-financial support for the country, I said about our work to diversify energy sources, "said Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani.

Regarding the macro-financial assistance and the amount requested from Northern Macedonia by the European Union, the minister said that the Ministry of Finance and the government are dealing with these issues, but he was left with the impression that there is understanding in the EU and the EC. 

Osmani: RSM does not mind including the Bulgarian community in the constitution

"I think that the European Commission and the European Union are aware of and are trying to involve the region in these measures in order to mitigate the consequences. I believe that the accession process is extremely important for us because it is at the heart of other issues." , said Osmani and reiterated that the coming months and even years are expected to be a crisis not only for the Western Balkans but for the EU as a whole.

According to MIA, French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal for a European political community was also discussed at today's meeting.

The countries of the Western Balkans were convinced that this proposal was not an alternative to full EU membership, but did not receive further details.

Macron is expected to first share more about the plan with his EU counterparts at the upcoming EU summit in late May.

Relations Bulgaria - RS Macedonia

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