State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Toncev received today Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria Radko Vlaykov.

The topic of the conversation concerned a recent incident in Bosilegrad, when three Bulgarian physicians carried out medical check-ups at the offices of the civic association "Bosilegrad", a Cultural and Information Centre of the Bulgarian national minority situated in the municipality of Bosilegrad, at the request of the aforementioned civic association.

The relevant authorities of the Republic of Serbia established, in a legally instituted process, that the said association was not authorized to organize medical examinations, which were carried out without the consent of the Ministry of Health and the Serbian Medical Chamber.

The doctors were asked to come the Bosilegrad Police Station for an interview in order to gather information from them regarding the circumstances of their stay in Bosilegrad, following which they left the Bosilegrad Police Station. The police took no measures against the said persons, no misdemeanor charges were pressed, and no measures banning these persons from re-entering the country were pronounced.

State Secretary Ivica Toncev underlined that the conduct of the competent authorities was in accordance with the law and with their powers.

It has been noted that the Government of the Republic of Serbia fully respects the rights and freedoms of all national minorities, including the Bulgarian national minority, and that the incident, which must not in any way affect the existing good relations between Serbia and Bulgaria, solely had a local character.

Finally, State Secretary Toncev highlighted the readiness of high and top officials of Serbia to preserve and further enhance an intensive political dialogue and good bilateral relations between the two countries.