On Monday, two vehicles owned by the Bulgarian Embassy were set on fire outside the diplomatic mission’s building in Skopje. Police, who received the report at 12:13 p.m., found and arrested the suspect, 44-year-old I.D. from Skopje, after about three hours. According to the Interior Ministry, the clothes that the person was wearing at the time of committing the crime were also found.
“In coordination with a relevant public prosecutor, measures and activities are being taken to fully clear up the case, after which an appropriate criminal charge will be filed against the person under an urgent procedure”, the institution added.
Immediately after the incident, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry said it was a consequence of hate speech and an insufficiently effective institutional reaction previously. Immediately after that, a press release was issued by North Macedonia’s Foreign Ministry, saying Minister Mucunski had spoken over the phone with Bulgarian counterpart Petrova-Chamova. He condemned the incident, adding that relevant institutions were already taking appropriate measures to fully clear up the case, determine all circumstances, and bring the perpetrator to justice.
