Unfortunately, the celebration of the 151st anniversary of the birth of Gotse Delchev has not contributed to building up the relations between Sofia and Skopje. February 4, 2023 will go down in history as a date on which the authorities in North Macedonia, on the basis of extremely unconvincing reasons and in violation of previously given assurances, did not allow Bulgarian citizens to pay tribute to Delchev, the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs write.

They point out that at the border crossing points, Bulgarians were stopped for hours from entering the Republic of North Macedonia, as the reasons were said to be technical. Later, some of the Bulgarians received official refusals to enter the territory of the neighboring country and others returned due to the long hours of waiting. Among those affected by the restrictive measures were journalists who were stopped because of "threat to public order, national security, public health or the international relations of North Macedonia". There is also information about violence against Bulgarian citizens by the border authorities of North Macedonia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recalls that the free movement of people is one of the main principles of the functioning of the EU and also that the establishment of good neighborly relations requires at least two sincere partners.