Macedonian Crisis: Bulgarian Leader Calls for Respect of Democracy Amid Clashes

Bulgarian President Roumen Radev called on all the parties to the ongoing crisis in Macedonia on Friday to respect democratic process and to find the way to settle disputes, following the violent clashes in Macedonian parliament.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, clashes broke out inside and outside the Macedonian parliament building, after Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian, was elected speaker of the parliament. The protesters forced their way into the building, attacking several opposition lawmakers and blocking others.

"I call on all parties in the Republic of Macedonia to respect the democratic process and to engage in dialogue. Democracy and the democratic process are the way to resolve the crisis," Radev said, as quoted by The Sofia Globe news website.

Radev added that he hoped the Macedonian citizens would not move away from the European values.

According to media reports, the Thursday's clashes resulted in over 100 injuries and the storming was condemned by officials from several international organizations, such as the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and NATO.