Skopje will raise the case of Iva Mihailova at NATO and EU meetings, North Macedonia's prime minister Hristijan Mickoski said in a TV interview quoted by the Bulgarian news agency BTA. He said Bulgaria, a NATO partner, has become a haven for criminals convicted in North Macedonia.

This story follows our earlier report on the request by prosecutors in Kocani to put Mihailova in custody.

Mihailova is wanted on an international arrest warrant, and she faces trial in North Macedonia over a car crash in which someone died. Her father lives in Bulgaria and was convicted in North Macedonia. An older international arrest warrant also exists for him.

Mickoski said he does not want to believe that Bulgaria's current leaders will give cover to people convicted in North Macedonia who get Bulgarian passports, flee and seek refuge in Bulgaria.

The prime minister said Mihailova and her lawyer Nikolay Dimitrov did not cross the border between the two countries legally. Mickoski also claimed that Dimitrov has a dubious past.

The opposition in North Macedonia and some pro-government Bulgarian media say Mihailova's departure was arranged in a secret deal with Bulgaria. Mickoski believes the aim is to damage the government politically, and above all the VMRO-DPMNE party. If there was a deal, he said, Bulgaria must hand over Mihailova and her father under the arrest warrants. If it does not, the claim is false and Mihailova was taken to Bulgaria illegally.

Mickoski was asked whether the case could worsen relations between the two countries. He said some forces in Bulgaria want trouble between the states and are waiting for an emotional response from Skopje. His government is constantly the target of provocations, he said, but they misjudge it, and Bulgaria would be happiest if North Macedonia walked out of the talks.

For that reason, the prime minister said, Skopje should respond calmly and keep inviting Sofia to the table to settle the problems. A deal with Bulgaria is possible, he said, if there is partnership and willingness to talk. But there will be no deal without partnership if the harassment continues, along with the stance of "we are inside (the EU), you are outside".

North Macedonia wants EU accession talks to finally start, Mickoski said, but not at any price, and it will not rush headlong into the process.