A day earlier, Siljanovska's office announced that it would formally ask Sofia for an explanation.

"The meeting and the joint lunch passed in a very friendly atmosphere from the welcome to the end. What cast a shadow over the event was the deviation from the agreed protocol for the meeting, according to which no photos were to be taken in the closed space. But unfortunately, before the start of the one-on-one meeting, President Radev invited the President for a group photo in front of the Bulgarian flag, although such a move and act was not foreseen or agreed upon. We would like to believe that this was a protocol oversight and not a deliberate procedure and deviation from what was agreed," the Macedonian presidency said. | BGNES