Rome- The next Macedonian government should make a priority of addressing tensions within the ethnic Albanian community, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ivailo Kalfin said.
Kalfin was speaking to journalists at a news conference on May 23 at the Italian foreign ministry after meeting his Italian counterpart Franco Frattini.
The run-up to the Macedonian elections has seen a spate of violent incidents involving the two main political parties that are rivals for the ethnic Albanian vote.
Kalfin, in Rome for ceremonies in celebration of May 24, the day that Bulgaria honours SS Cyril and Methodius, the ninth-century scholars who laid the foundations of the Cyrillic alphabet, had his first meeting with Frattini since the former European Commissioner became foreign minister in Silvio Berlusconi's new government.
As the commissioner in charge of justice and home affairs, Frattini had many engagements with Bulgaria, and Kalfin said that he was heartened to be dealing with Frattini who knew and understood Bulgaria well.
Kalfin highlighted the excellent state of Bulgarian-Italian relations, given that Italy was among Bulgaria's top trade and investment partners.
Bulgaria and Italy had very good relations on foreign policy issues, on which they had many shared perspectives in common, Kalfin said.
Replying to a question, he confirmed that they had discussed the Western Balkans. Kalfin said that Italy and Bulgaria were working together in support of the European prospects of the Western Balkans. In this context, Kalfin interpreted the outcome of the May 11 2008 elections in Serbia as confirming a pro-Western orientation.
Kalfin also expressed hope that Macedonia and Greece would find a resolution to their bilateral dispute over the name of the former Yugoslav republic. At the April 2008 Nato summit in Bucharest, Athens blocked an invitation to Macedonia to join Nato, because of the continuing name dispute.
Other matters discussed by Kalfin and Frattini included an update on Bulgaria's fight against crime, including a discussion of the work of Bulgaria's State Agency for National Security.
