Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said Monday that working groups of North Macedonia and Bulgaria are working to overcome the differences between the two countries regarding the implementation of the Treaty of Friendship, adding that additional annex to this agreement is being prepared.

“During my visit to Sofia, we discussed all the issues, the differences in the expectations from the agreement. We concluded that there are differences in our expectations from the agreement. We agreed to establish working groups from the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs that will discuss on a daily basis regarding the different interpretations of certain solutions,” Osmani said.

“We talked about the dilemmas about the new short name, that it does not mean territorial claim, that both the long and the short name do not define territorial claims,” Osmani told reporters.

“If a short name causes some concern in the Republic of Bulgaria that someone might interpret it as a territorial claim of the historical region of Macedonia, I think we have no problem making an additional explanation to the Bulgarian side that the both the new and long and short name of the country is in use, however both short and long name is the same territory and that is the Republic of North Macedonia,” Osmani noted.

According to Osmani, there is no dilemma that certain issues should be resolved and clarified, as well as our obligation not to interfere in the internal affairs of neighbouring countries.

In connection with the historical issues, Osmani said that he would like to encourage the commissions of the two countries to find certain solutions as soon as possible that will give a new impetus to the relations between the two countries with a view to the future, not the past.