Bulgarian Foreign Affairs Minister, Nikolay Mladenov, has called on Bulgaria and Macedonia to be an example of good neighborly relations on the Balkans.

Mladenov, speaking after a meeting with his Macedonian counterpart Antonio Milososki in Skopje, said that relations between the 2 countries “could be a good example of good neighborly relations on the Balkans.”

Mladenov added that he believes relations between the two countries should be oriented towards the future rather than looking at the past. The 2 diplomats also approved the new Ambassadors of both countries in Sofia and Skopje respectively.

The meeting marked the first stage of Mladenov’s Balkan tour, which will run until May 8, including stops in Macedonia and Serbia.

Mladenov is set to present the so-called “Friendship Treaty”, which Skopje is expected to sign but only if Sofia makes concessions on some of its most crucial points, according to Macedonia government sources.

In February 2010, after information was leaked to the Macedonian media, the Bulgarian government confirmed that a Friendship Treaty had been offered to Macedonia back in 2008.