Bulgarian President: Gligorov Was Vital for Our Relations

A man lights a candle in honor of Kiro Gligorov, the first democratically elected president of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia who died in his sleep, in Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 02 January 2012. EPA/BGNES

Bulgaria's outgoing President Georgi Parvanov has offered condolences to his Macedonian counterpart George Ivanov for the loss of the country's first President Kiro Gligorov who passed away on Monday.

"Kiro Gligorov did an important contribution for the development of the Bulgarian-Macedonian relations. He was among those who established the Balkan Political Club, a forum that has been establishing political continuity in the dialogue in Southeast Europe," Parvanov has stated in his letter to Ivanov.

The Bulgarian head of state has expressed his personal condolences, as well as those of all Bulgarians, to the Macedonian nation and Gligorov's family.

Gligorov, who led Macedonia to independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, served for two terms, from January 27, 1991 to November 19, 1999. He passed away Sunday evening at the age of 94 and the funeral took place on Tuesday in Skopje.

He is known for often espousing "anti-Bulgarian" positions, i.e. promoting explicitly a distinct Macedonian national identity counter to the paradigm of the period before communist Yugoslavia when Macedonia was viewed as part of the Bulgarian nation.

On Tuesday, it turned out that Gligorov had a document issued by the Bulgarian authorities in 1942 that he was of Bulgarian origin.

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