The Bulgarian government firmly stands behind the Bulgarians in Macedonia.

Foreign Minister Georgi Georgiev today received the chairman of the now dissolved "Ivan Mihailov Cultural Club" association, Ljupcho Georgievski, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting took place in the context of the Bulgarian state's intensified efforts to protect the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia.

During the conversation, Georgiev expressed the Bulgarian state's categorical support for Georgievski, against whom the court in Bitola imposed a one-year suspended sentence with a two-year probation period. The case against him is related to his activities as chairman of the "Ivan Mihailov Cultural Club" association - an organization that was the subject of a sharp reaction from the authorities in the Republic of North Macedonia and subsequently dissolved.

The Minister stressed that Bulgaria views the case against Georgievski as a politically motivated process. "Politically motivated processes that use state institutions and courts for repression against people who identify as Bulgarians and defend their identity are absolutely unacceptable in a country that claims to be European," said Georgi Georgiev.

Georgiev also emphasized that the right to self-determination is a fundamental principle of the European Union and cannot be called into question. "The way in which, through the cultural club and through your entire activity, you defend your principles and your origin is more than worthy to be embraced by us as a state, defended, and with this we will stand entirely and firmly behind you," he said.

Ljupcho Georgievski thanked the Bulgarian state for its support. "I do not accept the sentence as a disgrace. On the contrary - it is an honor for me to be tried as a Bulgarian who defends Bulgarianism in Macedonia. Until a few years ago, we were looking to prove our Bulgarian origin, today I have a document of Bulgarian origin and something my grandchildren can be proud of," he said.

Minister Georgiev again recalled that Bulgarian institutions remain firmly committed to guaranteeing the rights of Bulgarians in the Republic of North Macedonia, including through the use of all international human rights mechanisms.