French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to take steps to facilitate the Sofia-Skopje dialogue, and to move things forward, French Ambassador Cyrille Baumgartner said in an interview on TV Alsat’s “360 Degree” show.
“I think the next question will be – what exactly is it about, but I would remain discreet, because the most important thing is to be efficient, to have activities that will allow the process to be unblocked and to achieve the result that everyone wants today, and that is resolving the situation as soon as possible to start EU accession negotiations,” Baumgartner said.
“This means that we are not in a phase of public communication, but in a phase of mobilisation, and to increase the chances of success sometimes we need to be very discreet because the most important thing is to be convincing and have a rational approach that will eventually bring the desired result”, he added.
The French Ambassador to Bulgaria, Florence Robine, said in a TV interview that she was aware that there was a dispute between Sofia and Skopje, but that the most important thing was the need to create an opportunity for reconciliation between the two countries.
She spoke about the priorities of France during the upcoming presidency, which includes taking steps to open positive paths for the country and not to cause a situation in where it could be destabilised. In addition, Bulgaria, an EU member state, could act in a more helpful way.
The French ambassador also said that the legal interests of Bulgaria should be protected.
