The newly appointed British envoy to the Balkans Sir Stuart Peach spoke on the phone with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, who is shaping up to be the key hardliner in Sofia who blocks the opening of EU accession talks with Macedonia.

Peach was previously in Skopje, for meetings with the state leadership and the opposition. During his conversation with Radev, the Bulgarian President raised his demand that Macedonia moves quickly to introduce the Bulgarian community in the Constitution and make other steps to improve their political rights. Radev also demanded steps from Macedonia to stamp out “hate speech” against Bulgaria.

Achieving real results in the bilateral dialogue with Bulgaria will significantly speed up the Euro-integration process of the Republic of (North) Macedonia, Radev told Peach.