Meeting the Copenhagen criteria is a prerequisite for the start of EU Membership talks with North Macedonia, President Rumen Radev said at a meeting with Petar Kolev, leader of the Civic Democratic Union (GDU) in North Macedonia.

The Bulgarian head of state added that he expected "a sustainable and irreversible end to discrimination against Bulgarians in North Macedonia."

He added that he highly appreciated the contribution of North Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski and Prime Minister Zoran Zaev to restoring dialogue at the highest level. "It is time for the first steps to be made towards stimulating institutions and parties to engage with the huge potential present in bilateral relations, rather than accumulating new problems," President Radev added.