Bulgarian President Iliana Yotova has described the burning of two cars belonging to Bulgaria's embassy in Skopje, North Macedonia's capital, as a direct attack on Bulgaria, calling it unacceptable and warning that it should factor into discussions about North Macedonia's EU membership bid. North Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski swiftly condemned the attack and announced that a 44-year-old suspect had been detained and admitted to the crime, though the motive remains under investigation. The incident deepens an already fraught relationship between the two neighbouring countries, rooted in Bulgaria's 2020 blocking of North Macedonia's EU accession talks over unresolved disputes concerning history, language, and the rights of ethnic Bulgarians living there.