The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Skopje has summoned Bulgarian Ambassador Zhelyazko Radukov, issuing an oral protest over the use of the term ?North Macedonian? by Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Velislava Petrova-Chamova during a recent EU-level meeting, according to media reports in North Macedonia.
Officials in Skopje said the objection was formally delivered during the meeting, where they described Petrova's wording as inappropriate. In their statement, they referred to her use of the phrase ?North Macedonian partners? during remarks at the EU Foreign Affairs Council.
?At the meeting, he was given an oral objection regarding the inappropriate address by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria, Velislava Petrova-Chamova, who in her statement yesterday during the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union used an inappropriate and incorrect adjective derived from the name of our country,? the ministry in Skopje said.
The disputed phrase was used by Petrova-Chamova in Brussels on Monday, when she spoke about bilateral contacts and Bulgaria's position on North Macedonia's EU accession process. She noted that the issue is now part of a broader EU framework rather than a purely bilateral dispute and referred to discussions with what she called ?North Macedonian partners.?
Following the remarks, North Macedonia's Foreign Minister Timco Mucunski wrote on Facebook that no formal bilateral meeting had taken place, describing the exchange as a brief conversation on the sidelines of an event attended by other officials.
He also objected to the terminology used, saying, ?The use of the term ?North Macedonian? in relation to the Macedonian people is inaccurate and inappropriate. Macedonians are Macedonians.?
In response, commentary circulating in Bulgarian media questioned Skopje's reaction, pointing to the fact that similar terminology is widely used in international journalism and official institutions, including references to ?North Macedonian president,? ?North Macedonian parliament,? and ?North Macedonian opposition party? in reports by major global outlets.
References were also made to administrative usage by US institutions, including the US State Department, which in official communications uses forms such as ?North Macedonian Embassy? and ?North Macedonian authorities,? as well as similar phrasing in diplomatic and consular documentation.
The discussion has also been linked by commentators to broader tensions over language and identity in regional diplomacy, with some arguing that terminology disputes continue to reflect deeper political sensitivities between the two countries.
Further reactions in Skopje have not yet been announced following the summons of the Bulgarian ambassador.
