The head of state receives children artists from Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM), participating in an initiative for good-neighbourly and friendly relations between the two countries

 

The young people of Bulgaria and the RNM set an example to politicians that they can communicate freely without prejudice, create together, and build a common future in a united Europe, President Rumen Radev said at a meeting with children artists from Bulgaria and the RNM, who are in Sofia on the occasion of the "On Both Sides of the Border" social campaign of the Bulgarian Memory Foundation. The initiative aims to draw public attention to the need for a focused policy for the development of good neighbourly and friendly relations between the two countries. The young artists from the RNM are part of the SS Cyril and Methodius Children's Art Studio in Bitola. Those from Bulgaria are from the Western Rhodopes region. Earlier in the day, the young artists from both countries painted a large picture in front of the building of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre in Sofia, symbolising the aspiration for unity between Bulgaria and the Republic of North Macedonia.

 

Bulgaria extends a hand of sincere friendship to our brothers and sisters from the RNM, the head of state told the young people and expressed confidence that this hand would be accepted in a fair way so that the obstacles to free communication between the people on both sides of the border would be removed. The President congratulated the young people for the initiative and expressed hope that the example they were setting would be taken up by politicians. In front of the young artists, the President read out an excerpt from Antoine de Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince, which ends with the words that “Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.” The head of state thanked the children on both sides for working together to show adults what to do and how to do it.

 

In his talk with the young people, the President highlighted the need for more and more joint initiatives between Bulgaria and the RNM, as the two countries are the closest on the Balkan Peninsula and, besides a common border, have a thousand-year common history and culture. Bulgaria is the very interested for the RNM to start negotiations for EU membership as soon as possible, but we want all people in the RNM to have equal rights, regardless of whether they feel they are Macedonians, Bulgarians or Albanians, Rumen Radev said and expressed hope that this would soon start happening through a change in the constitution of our south-western neighbour. He also noted the importance of textbooks contributing to understanding, respect, and genuine European relations between the people of the two countries so that there is no hate speech and prejudices are eradicated. 

 

Asked by the young people about the feeling of flying freely with no borders in front of them, the President said that he would like the people of Bulgaria and the RNM to be able to feel like pilots of an airplane with no barriers in front of them, to have the freedom to cross the border between the two countries freely and to communicate, as is the case in United Europe. The Head of State stressed that the most important thing is not to have barriers and borders in our souls. "I will be very happy to feel the freedom of flight in our relations," President Rumen Radev further told the young people from Bulgaria and the RNM.