By Ihvan Radoykov
SOFIA, Bulgaria (AA) - Bulgaria slammed on Monday newly elected North Macedonian President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova for calling the country “Macedonia,” during her swearing-in ceremony.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said in a statement that North Macedonia must remain committed to the agreements signed with the EU, as well as the Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighborliness and Cooperation signed with Bulgaria in 2017.
Bulgaria “refuses” the statements and behaviors that contradict international agreements, Radev added.
He recalled that North Macedonia is also a member of NATO, which brings “obligations and responsibilities.”
North Macedonia’s European perspective depends on the firm implementation of the international agreements it signed, Radev stressed.
Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev reiterated, in his statement, that his country “refuses” the contradictory statements and behaviors.
“We believe that the Republic of North Macedonia’s European perspective completely depends on fully implementing the agreements that were accepted by all in July 2022,” the premier noted.
Earlier Sunday, 71-year-old Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, a law professor and jurist, was sworn in as the country’s first woman president, at a ceremony in the North Macedonian Assembly.
In her initiation speech, she pledged to diligently and responsibly fulfill her duties as the country’s president.
"I will respect the Constitution and laws, and I will protect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence of Macedonia," she said.
Siljanovska-Davkova took over the presidency from Stevo Pendarovski in a handover ceremony following an assembly session.
In the second round of North Macedonia's presidential election on May 8, she secured victory with 64.14% of the votes.
She was backed by the alliance led by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity.
Meanwhile, the alliance supported by the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, led by former President Pendarovski, received 29.25% of the votes.
*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara