According to the President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, in the latest position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sofia, which says that Bulgaria has no other conditions towards North Macedonia, there is a different type of rhetoric, but “the question is how long this government will last”.
“The most important thing is that at this moment, diplomatic messages are coming from Bulgaria that are cultural, not nationalistic, as in the time of Zaharieva (former foreign minister in Boyko Borisov’s cabinet Ekaterina Zaharieva – note ed.) and Karakachanov, which is an undeniable difference. But until December, in terms of constitutional amendments, the ball is in our court. It is good that Bulgaria does not further inflame the atmosphere in our country. The case of Pendikov, for example, clearly shows that this is an anti-European attitude. A way a neighbor should not behave. Taking a person beaten for completely different reasons and then giving him Bulgarian citizenship is an example of how you should not behave. It’s good that there is no such behavior. But regardless of everything, the “ball” is already in our court”, says Pendarovski in an interview with “Svoboden Pechat”.
The government of Nikolay Denkov is trying to calm the tone towards North Macedonia, but at the same time reminds that it expects Skopje to fulfill the Bulgarian requirements in order to start effective negotiations for EU membership. President Rumen Radev, however, uses every situation to criticize Skopje, which provokes a response from the Macedonian side as well.
On Wednesday, Radev said that Nikolay Denkov’s government should make more efforts for North Macedonia.
Pendarovski: We have an effective blockade
When asked whether there will be a meeting with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Pendarovski says that two years ago there was an agreed period for his visit to Sofia.
“But when I received the representatives of OMO “Ilinden”, he called and told me that there were protests in front of his office, and that from the security point of view it would be very difficult to organize this visit. It was left for a future time when the situation would be better. It is undisputed that I have an open invitation, but I would go when we see some movement in the bilateral negotiations and within the framework of the historical commission, and if there is some atmosphere.”
“Unfortunately, the atmosphere only worsened and reached its climax because of this unreasonable moment of reaction regarding (my) meeting with Macedonians who live there (in Bulgaria), to whom I did not make any promise, although associations and political parties from Northern Macedonians go to Bulgaria every day, to see the prime minister, the president… However, there must be a good atmosphere to have a positive effect. In general, the behavior of Bulgaria in the last three years is not positive, we have an effective Bulgarian blockade”. said Pendarovski, quoted by BTA.
According to him, North Macedonia is ready to start negotiations with the EU, because a year after the first intergovernmental conference, the results of the screening process are very good and “if there is no such pressure on bilateral issues and problems, as there is now from Bulgaria”, for four years, as he claims, the country can finish the negotiations and “simply wait for the ratification” of the EU membership protocol.
VMRO-DPMNE continues to block Skopje to the EU
“VMRO-DPMNE is only interested in its party rating and party policy and is not interested in the strategic interests of the state”, comments Pendarovski.
Diplomats from the EU have repeatedly called on Skopje to accept the constitutional changes that include the Bulgarians in the basic law, but VMRO-DPMNE does not change its position so far.
According to the EU, the moment is extremely good for North Macedonia and it can enter the EU by 2030 if it fulfills the requirements written in its negotiating framework.
The leader of VMRO-DPMNE Hristiyan Mitkoski also indicated on Wednesday that his party will not support the changes.
2023-07-19 15:42:57
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