Two diplomatic vehicles of the Bulgarian embassy in Skopje burned in broad daylight, and within a few hours the incident inflamed relations between Skopje and Sofia. Police reacted quickly - the perpetrator was found and detained. But the question that hangs over the whole story is the same one it began with: what are the real motives?

According to official information, the vehicles were set on fire on the street outside the diplomatic premises on June 15 in the afternoon. The detainee, a 44-year-old man, reportedly said he set them ablaze because they were „illegally parked" - an explanation that barely holds up when it concerns vehicles with diplomatic plates outside a foreign embassy. On top of that, the media reported that he has a tattoo of Putin's face on his stomach, a detail that inevitably steers the story in a political direction.

The authorities responded with condemnation. The government declared that „those who incite tensions will face maximum sanctions," and Foreign Minister Mucunski phoned his Bulgarian counterpart to calm the incident along diplomatic lines. The speed of the reaction shows how sensitive the topic is - any incident with a Bulgarian dimension here immediately takes on a weight greater than the event itself.

And here is the essence. Is this an isolated act by an unstable individual, or something it suits someone to blow up? Relations between the two countries have been tense for years anyway, over identity and historical questions. When a single burned vehicle can become an interstate issue within hours, it shows that the real fire isn't on the street - it's in the politics waiting for a pretext to flare up.