The US Secretary of State called on Radev for sanctions and Northern Macedonia

Today, President Rumen Radev held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. The conversation was initiated by Blinken and discussed various topics, including the strategic partnership between Bulgaria and the United States, sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act against Bulgarian individuals and companies, cooperation in the field of security and defense, recovery from the pandemic. coronavirus, as well as the European integration of the Republic of Northern Macedonia, the press service of the head of state reported.

Radev defined the sanctions imposed under the “Magnitsky” law as a strong sign in support of the aspiration of Bulgarian citizens to establish democracy, fairness and transparency.

“This is a US contribution to the fight against corruption, as well as to strengthening democracy and promoting the potential of the Bulgarian economy,” Anthony Blinken said.

The Bulgarian head of state praised the bilateral partnership in defense, and called for increased industrial cooperation in this area. The long-term partnership in the modernization of the Bulgarian Army was emphasized, including through the introduction of models of modern military training.

Blinken also highlighted our country’s contribution to the NATO 2030 strategy.

During the conversation, Radev stressed Bulgaria’s ambitions to use European funds under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan for decisive modernization of the country and called for increased US investment in areas of high added value such as information technology, science and education.

The European perspective of Albania and the Republic of Northern Macedonia was also discussed, with Anthony Blinken expressing expectations for accelerating the process of European integration for our southwestern neighbor. The common position was that this was in the interests of stability and security not only in the region but also in Europe.

The Head of State recalled our consistent support for the membership of the Republic of Northern Macedonia and called for the achievement of sustainable and irreversible results in building good neighborly relations, as well as for strict compliance with the Copenhagen membership criteria, which will accelerate the process of adopting an EU negotiating framework. for our southwestern neighbor.

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