North Macedonia’s President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova said in an interview with MRT 1 on Monday that she will meet Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova during the South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) summit, to be held in Sofia on June 10.
She said that the meeting is expected to raise “substantive issues, because there is no problem that cannot be solved,” and described the meeting with Iotova as a natural continuation of their meeting in Yerevan in May during the eighth European Political Community summit, where they had a “pleasant woman-to-woman conversation”. “I think we should continue it, and that is why I mentioned the need to build trust,” Siljanovska-Davkova added.
She said that during the working lunch when she first met then President Rumen Radev in Sofia, on September 13, 2024, when he was Bulgaria’s President, he spoke about the need for cooperation in many areas. “And I think this is the only way: to approach each other with goodwill. Let us not insult each other, let us not hurt each other, let us try to weigh our words. On both sides. And now both sides want to meet,” Siljanovska-Davkova said.
She said that, as an MP in 2023, she voted against putting the country’s constitutional amendments (for the inclusion of Bulgarians in the country’s constitution) on Parliament’s agenda. Now, as President, she cannot negotiate changes to the country’s Constitution.
“I have said many times that I cannot even guarantee that, even if there is a proposal by the Government or by MPs [for constitutional changes], it will be implemented. Do you know what it means to ask a country to guarantee that it will change its Constitution? It means suspending parliamentary democracy. MPs represent the citizens and vote according to their convictions. From our example, the EU and the world have learned that… you cannot agree on constitutional changes outside the country and then instrumentalize Parliament,” Siljanovska-Davkova said.
/NF/