The US urges Bulgaria and Macedonia to de-escalate their rhetoric and quickly resolve bilateral disputes, the US Department of State told Voice of America on Monday when asked to comment on Bulgaria’s decision to withdraw its ambassador from Skopje.

The future of Macedonia is in the EU. The US continues to support the country’s full-fledged Euro-Atlantic integration, the State Department said in a statement.

Bulgaria withdrew its ambassador last week after the attack on the secretary of the Bulgarian club “Boris the Third” in Ohrid.

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Milkov then announced that their ambassador will remain in Sofia until, as he said, progress is registered in relation to the treatment of Macedonian citizens with Bulgarian self-awareness in Macedonia.

The Macedonian MFA, on the other hand, told MIA last night that the Bulgarian ambassador is, however, returning to his diplomatic duties in Skopje in full capacity.