It is our right to self-determination to be Macedonian people with Macedonian identity, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Thursday.
“Europe must foster its fundamental values, European values, which is to foster all identities in the European continent. Here, we have been fostering all European identities. It’s also Europe’s duty to foster our Macedonian identity, too,” Zaev said in an interview with Slobodna TV’s Morning Briefing show.
Optimism, he added, is constantly being nourished because there’s a need to create policies for improving friendship in the region.
“In my address to the nation I said we are building friendship, we do no one harm in the region having no claims. We are a peaceful nation, our country has been promoting European politics. From here, from the candidate countries in the Western Balkans, we can teach something that the modern EU is missing in terms of the debate on the budget, on Poland and Hungary and regarding other issues,” Zaev told Morning Briefing show.
The Prime Minister stressed the country recently had done a lot, what was considered acceptable, vowing it would continue doing so.
Back on October 11, Zaev said, there were reservations involving Bulgaria and we’d said the people should be prepared that there might not be an intergovernmental conference this year.
“As regards finding solutions with Bulgaria… we’ve drafted an action plan, we’ve proposed certain clauses to be turned into memorandum, statement, declaration or protocol in order to intensify the implementation of the Friendship Agreement. We are open and prepared. Nothing has been rejected, in fact, it is acceptable. Namely, actions are being planned to prevent hate speech, to agree on narratives that build friendship through historical figures in the textbooks in Bulgaria and North Macedonia, etc,” he stated.
North Macedonia, he pledged, is still on its European path, but Europe cannot allow to have a chapter 35 included with things that aren’t acceptable.
“Bulgaria is the loser, so is North Macedonia, but the biggest loser is the European Union,” PM Zaev said and thanked the 26 EU members for their support and Germany as presidency holder for its unwavering support.
Commenting on his interview with Bulgaria’s news agency BGNES, which came under fire in the country, Zaev said it was his duty to make the first move.
“There was one positive thing – in the past few months, we’ve found out more about each other, the Macedonians about Bulgarians and vice versa, and this opportunity should be seized,” he stated.
Asked about the role of the opposition, which has been demanding Zaev’s resignation, the PM said it was high time the ruling majority and the opposition joined forces.
One of the projects having a unifying character is the new clinical complex, according to him. “It is in the interest of all citizens in the country, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“We mustn’t give up on reconciliation. In circumstances like these, we should always seek ways to reconcile, to back projects,” Zaev said in the interview.
