Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani said in the coming period attempts should be made to restore trust in the Friendship Treaty signed by North Macedonia and Bulgaria paving the way for the first intergovernmental conference with the EU to take place in December during Germany’s presidency.

If the issue remains unsolved now, he warned, it will have far-reaching consequences on the relations between the two countries and on any chance of it being resolved in the future.

“We’re working with concrete proposals as to how to settle the difference for the purpose of aligning the framework, which is a precondition for holding the first intergovernmental conference in December,” Osmani told a news conference Wednesday, falling short of providing details about the ongoing talks since at this stage it involves ideas and proposals for which there is still no agreement.

According to the top diplomat, unresolved issues from the past have resulted in mistrust, which has been fully neglected in the past 30 years.

“Issues have been swept under the rug and there have been lack of efforts to build trust. There was mistrust between the politicians, but also between academic, historians, etc. It all has resulted in overall mistrust, which has been also translated into the treaty,” Osmani said.

He said he sees a chance for a resolution in restoring of trust in the treaty, calling it a platform for overcoming difference.

“The Republic of Bulgaria has been clear in saying it doesn’t dispute identity-related issues, and we’ve never had a clearer position from Bulgaria that it doesn’t dispute the identity and language of the citizens living in the Republic of North Macedonia. I believe it is a solid foundation to upgrade the overall trust between our two countries,” said Osmani.

He called for taking advantage of the days to come to restore the trust and restore the process, noting: “If we don’t find a solution now, it can drastically affect the relation, which might hinder the process of seeking solution.”