We have no dilemmas over delivering the guarantees. We’re a peaceful nation and we can only be expected to build friendship and cooperation, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said commenting on Bulgarian President Rumen Radev’s statement that Bulgaria wants clear guarantees for its national security and its national interests.
In an interview with Fokus weekly, Zaev adds that “if this is about the long form and the short form of the country’s name, North Macedonia is the same as the Republic of North Macedonia and it refers exactly to the state without any territorial claims, neither to Bulgaria nor to its other neighbors.”
“I definitively think that President Radev, who is a European leader, can make a positive step, and thus give our friendship a chance to develop and grow instead of leaving a mark between the two peoples,” said Zaev, voicing satisfaction with the creative proposals brought forward by Portuguese Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, and EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement ,Olivér Várhelyi, after their recent visit to Sofia and Skopje, as well as hope that at the end of the day the European Union will deliver on what we expect.
Pointing out that it has been agreed not to disclose any details in order for the process to succeed, Zaev said the people should be informed that this is a good basis and that the expectations are within the proposal, which will be considered by the Government, and North Macedonia’s positions will be built in consultation with the President and all relevant parties.
“It’s important that we’ll get what we expect as a minimum, and this is care for pure Macedonian language and Macedonian identity,” stressed Zaev, reiterating that European leaders and EU members have confirmed that the arguments are on our side, and given the situation in Bulgaria which has a caretaker government, it is expected that in the coming period, after the session of the General Affairs Council, the country will start with the first intergovernmental conference.
As regards the opposition’s proposal to leave the treaty and make a new one, which would include more international guarantees, PM Zaev says it’s very unserious to cancel an agreement whose implementation has already begun and much remains to be done, reiterating that the identity and the language are the red lines that neither the Government nor the Union can negotiate over or change.
“I take full responsibility for my actions, as I carry the laurels of the success achieved. Today, the country is respected more than ever before,” Zaev tells Fokus, pointing to the resolution of the name dispute with neighboring Greece, which is now not only a friend but also an important strategic partner and one of the biggest supporters and investors.
