Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski is to meet Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi on May 22 after the event scheduled for May 22 was unexpectedly postponed.

Marin Raykov, Bulgaria's Ambassador to Rome, told an official delegation which arrived in Italy on Thursday that it was the last campaigning events of political parties ahead of the European elections that forced Renzi to cancel the meeting.

Raykov assured "no political message" was conveyed by Renzi's decision and that Italian diplomats had already issued an apology, as Dariknews.bg reports.

He added that the two Prime Ministers had held a telephone conversation upon Renzi's request in which the Italian PM called on his counterpart to "understand" him.

At 8 PM on Wednesday, Renzi's office announced a meeting between the two Prime Ministers on Thursday, May 22, has been canceled.

They offered no explanation for the move.

bTV has quoted diplomatic sources as describing it as a demonstration of "arrogant" behavior.

Alongside Renzi, Bulgaria's Prime Minister was also due to be received by Pope Francis. Bulgarian officials however have sent a request that the event be put off for May 28.

Oresharski was to travel on Thursday accompanied by Foreign Minister Kristian Vigenin.

Neither of them will visit Italy as a result of the last-minute reschedule, and Daniela Bobeva, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic development, will lead the delegation instead.

Bobeva and other officials are due to meet representatives of Confindustria, Italy's most influential trade union. She is also to pay her respect to the monument of Ivan Vazov (1850-1921), considered to be the greatest Bulgarian writer and poet.

The delegation is also planning to attend the church of St Paul in Rome, which has been conceded to the Bulgarian community for liturgical purposes.

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