Macedonia is internationally recognized as a modern, functional multiethnic society. The accusations put forward at this Summit by the representative of Bulgaria are completely unfounded and come from a country that doesn’t respect the European Court of Human Rights decisions and Council of Europe standards on human rights, stressed the Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski at the general debate titled United for Europe, held within the Fourth Summit of the Council of Europe in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Kovacevski also said that the Bulgarian discourse towards Macedonia closely resembles the Russian one towards Ukraine.

“It is unacceptable to abuse these accusations for political purposes, especially in this crucial period for the future of Europe. We must not allow for third parties’ influence – especially not Russian – in the Balkan core, which is also the European core”, he said.

He emphasized that Macedonia supports the Declaration brought by this Summit and all its annexes, believing that they provide a solid agenda to solve the problems.

“As a country currently presiding over OSCE and a NATO member, Macedonia will continue to showcase our firm dedication to multiculturalism and particularly toward Ukraine, as we always did”, he added.

Prime Minister Kovacevski concluded that the norms and standards helped improve the lives of Macedonian citizens. It is of utmost importance, he said, for Europe to remain united and it won’t be complete, peaceful, and free absent of Balkan’s full integration into the Union.