The Macedonian Parliament ratified the Friendship and Neighborhood Agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria with 61 votes in favor of the good neighborship and friendship between the two countries.

Macedonian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov said that "the treaty protects our interests and the interests of Bulgaria". He defined as a good sign that the treaty was ratified today, in which Bulgaria was the first in the world to recognize the independence of the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name in 1992.

The opposition VMRO-DPMNE, on whose term the treaty did not have much movement, boycotted the vote - because of the arrests of its members over the parliament in May.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria welcomes the decision of the Parliament of the Republic of Macedonia to ratify the Friendship, Neighborhood and Cooperation Treaty between the two countries.

This act reaffirms the will to build good neighborly relations, which are an important element of the European perspective of all the countries of the Western Balkans, says an official message from the MFA.