Croatia hopes that the accession talks between the European Union and North Macedonia will be opened soon, Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman said in Skopje on Wednesday.

Grlic-Radman began a two-day visit to North Macedonia on Wednesday. At the start of his tour, he held talks with his North Macedonian counterpart Bujar Osmani.

He will also be received by Deputy Prime Minister in charge of European Affairs, Bojan Maricic, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski, Parliament Speaker Talat Xhaferi and President Stevo Pendarovski. After the talks, FM Osmani told a news conference that Croatia was well acquainted with the developments and Skopje appreciated Zagreb’s support for North Macedonia’s European journey.

During Croatia’s chairmanship of the European Union in the first half of 2020, a decision was made on opening the membership negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, however, Bulgaria imposed a veto over its dispute about the identity and language of North Macedonia, and the talks have not yet been launched, said the Croatian minister adding that Sofia is being put under pressure to remove that blockade.

“We sincerely hope that the accession negotiations will soon start,” said Grlic-Radman who will attend Prespa Forum in Ohrid on Thursday.