Asked by a journalist about expectations regarding the meeting in Sofia between the foreign ministers of Macedonia and Bulgaria, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski stated that he did not have high expectations.

Given the analysis I shared with the Foreign Minister yesterday—and I will be undiplomatic here—and considering the conduct of official Sofia, I do not expect any confirmation; I expect nothing. I anticipate a ‘pull-aside’ dialogue—what we call a ‘water cooler chat—and that is about it, Mickoski replied.

The foreign ministers of Macedonia and Bulgaria, Timco Mucunski and Velislava Petrova, are scheduled to meet on Thursday in Sofia on the sidelines of an international ministerial conference regarding Corridor 8.

The initiative for a meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers arose during the visit of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to Skopje. Acting on her advice, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski asked Mucunski to request a meeting with Petrova in an effort to advance the process of resolving the issue surrounding Bulgaria’s blockade of Macedonia’s European integration.