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eKathimerini (29 September 2026)

Greece will return to Bulgaria the remains identified as those of Bulgarian medieval ruler Tsar ​Samuel under an accord signed on Tuesday that ‌also provides for the transfer of other historic and religious artefacts between the two Balkan neighbours.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev described ​the accord as a “historic agreement” and said the ​return of Samuel’s remains ended six decades of ⁠efforts by Sofia to bring them home after ​their discovery in Greece in 1965.

Samuel, or Samuil, reigned ​from 997 to 1014 during the First Bulgarian Empire and is deemed a national hero by Bulgarians for struggling to preserve his ​country’s independence from the neighbouring, Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire.

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