Handover protocols in Thessaloniki

On the morning of 3 October 2026, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Bulgarian leader Rumen Radev met at the Museum of Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki to formalize a mutual repatriation agreement. The ceremony completed a Memorandum of Understanding negotiated by Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and Bulgarian Culture Minister Evtim Miloshev. Under the terms, Greece transferred the anthropological material of medieval Tsar Samuel to Bulgaria. In exchange, Bulgaria returned 48 sacred ecclesiastical relics taken from northern Greek churches and monasteries during World War I. Mitsotakis stated during the event that relations between Athens and Sofia are currently experiencing their best moment in history. Speaking at the Thessaloniki museum, Radev reflected on the diplomatic breakthrough.

“If in the past Tsar Samuel divided us, today he unites us.”

State reception and burial in Sofia

Following the Thessaloniki ceremony, a Bulgarian military transport plane flew the czar's coffin to Sofia under the escort of MiG-29 and F-16 fighter jets. After landing at Vasil Levski airport, an open military vehicle carried the coffin through the capital, flanked by six armed soldiers in combat gear and motorcycle police. Thousands of citizens gathered along the route and in central squares, aided by free train services arranged across Bulgaria for the event. The procession concluded at the sixth-century Church of Saint Sofia, where church tradition holds that Samuel was once baptised. Patriarch Daniil, former prime minister Simeon of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and political leaders across party lines observed a 21-gun artillery salute and the national anthem before the remains were placed in a marble sarcophagus. Radev addressed the crowd in Sofia, placing the event into a wider European context.

“Today, we Europeans are learning to read history with a desire to belong not only to our homeland, but also to the culture that unites us across the entire European continent.”

Excavation history and diplomatic precedents

Tsar Samuel ruled the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 until his death in 1014, leading resistance against Byzantine forces across the Balkans. Greek archaeologist Nikolaos Moutsopoulos uncovered the monarch's suspected bones in 1965 during excavations at the Basilica of Saint Achilleus on Small Prespa Lake. Researchers identified the remains through the prominent grave location, rich grave goods, the individual's age, and skeletal fractures matching documented injuries. Prime Minister Mitsotakis connected the handover to Greece's broader cultural heritage efforts, specifically the campaign to repatriate the Parthenon Sculptures from the British Museum. Mitsotakis remarked that the international community is reconsidering traditional positions regarding the return of cultural treasures.

Political friction in Athens

The bilateral agreement faced criticism in Athens from the opposition party PASOK, which challenged both the scope and transparency of the arrangement. Cultural representatives from PASOK pointed out that the agreement between the culture ministers had not been submitted to the Greek parliament or released to the public. The opposition argued that accepting 48 relics fell short of full historical justice under the Treaty of Neuilly, leaving thousands of looted manuscripts and liturgical treasures in Sofia. PASOK specifically challenged Mitsotakis over his references to maximalist demands of the past and called on the government to clarify its legal strategy for remaining items.