It is in Skopje and Sofia’s interest to fully implement the Friendship Treaty and overcome misunderstandings, so that North Macedonia and the entire region be part of the EU. We inherited a situation that did not favor friendship between Macedonians and Bulgarians. It would have been easy to leave the situation as it is or make it worse, but we must demonstrate courage and improve things. I know both people are close and want the best for each other, says Prime Minister Zoran Zaev in an interview with BGNES.
“We are fully prepared to fulfill our obligations and Bulgaria has committed to meeting its own. The Treaty’s implementation is the only way to build an even bigger friendship and cooperation between the two countries,” says PM Zaev.
It is a fact, he adds, that we are Macedonians speaking the Macedonian language and this is a self-determination right, while Bulgaria was the first country to recognize our independence, its sovereignty and thus our self-determination right.
“Therefore, it is a fact that we are Macedonians speaking the Macedonian language. At the end of the day, this is a feeling. You know there are many nationalities besides Macedonians – Albanians, Turks, Vlachs, Bosniaks, Roma, also Bulgarians living in the country. They are our citizens and a good bridge for cooperation between the two countries. We will need to clarify primarily the historical aspects but through the prism of friendship. Bulgaria has been highlighting on many occasions that it recognizes the reality of Macedonians and a Macedonian language,” stresses Zaev.
On the open historical issues, the PM believes they can be overcome, primarily by historians.
“History can be a good bridge of friendship and cooperation. I hope the entire process will be successfully completed as soon as possible, so that we witness that Bulgaria is a big friend of Macedonia. It always was and it still is. We have defined the joint celebrations of persons from the Middle Ages – Tsar Samoil, Cyril and Methodius, Clement and Naum – there are records of this and they must be incorporated in the history textbooks. The new generations are not aware of this reality that must unite us. We have already replaced more than 20 boards in the country that read ‘Bulgarian fascist occupier’ because Bulgaria is not fascism, Bulgaria is our friend. There had been an administration at that time, at the start of WWII, but afterwards Bulgaria fought against the fascism, for freedom and democracy and had been a part of the anti-fascist front,” notes Zaev.
He says the past left a lot of injustice in Macedonia, in the time of former Yugoslavia and communism.
“A lot of people were on the receiving end of injustice, including Bulgarians and others. All of this was reflected on the Macedonian people. But we must recognize that we have opened very good prospects since 2017. Unfortunately, one of the three years since was dominated by the corona-crisis. There were elections in Macedonia, many things have taken place. There are topics that we can cooperate on in the future and I believe that only messages of friendship are beneficial for the citizens of both countries,” says Zaev.
On the shared history and Goce Delchev, he believes they should unite not divide Bulgarians and Macedonians.
“The shared, common history should be there to unite us, so that Bulgarians and Macedonians see it as their own. Because if there had been no Goce Delchev, we would have had to invent one to unite us. The history is shared in a territory of the region Macedonia, which included Macedonians speaking the Macedonian language. It also included Bulgarians speaking the Bulgarian language. It included people who felt both as Bulgarians and Macedonians. Both countries must be smart and utilize this shared history in order to build bridges of friendship. That is why we say that Goce Delchev is a revolutionary both for Bulgarians and Macedonians, fighting for the freedom of Macedonia, for Odrin etc. This is the absolute reality,” says Zaev.
Regarding the Bulgarian claims over alleged aspirations by Skopje in the context of the short name North Macedonia and the minority in Bulgaria, the PM says there are no such aspirations, be it territorial or minority.
“We have said that we do not have either territorial or minority aspirations, that name North Macedonia relates to the Republic of North Macedonia. We sent a document that is not aimed only for Prime Minister Boyko Borissov or Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, but for citizens – Bulgarians and Macedonians – to know what is happening. We wrote in this document that we have no territorial aspirations and not interfere in the country’s internal affairs. In this document we clearly stated that we have no minority aspirations. This memorandum must be approved by the two intergovernmental commissions. The Government of the Republic of North Macedonia will publish it in the Official Gazette so that it has legal effect. We have also offered a roadmap for the implementation of the Friendship Treaty, in which we detail our engagement regarding its fulfillment,” notes Zaev.
He says that PM Borissov and the entire Bulgarian government demonstrated, during Sofia’s EU Presidency, great European leadership on the Balkans and this must remain so.
“EU accession is in the interest of Bulgaria, Macedonia and the Western Balkans, because this is the only right path for the entire region. I believe we will continue on this path. I would like to send a message not only to PM Borissov but also President Radev and our counterparts, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, to build bridges of friendship. Therefore, we are hereby declaring we have no territorial or minority aspirations and name North Macedonia refers to Republic of North Macedonia. That is why we proposed that Bulgarian airplanes watch over the Macedonian skies, that is why we released a roadmap with tasks having legal effect and benefit the citizens of Macedonia and Bulgaria,” says Zaev.
According to him, delays and blockades will lead to negative reactions and hate speech, and that is why politicians should work on overcoming misunderstandings and shortcomings from the past and look to the future.
On VMRO-DPMNE’s position regarding relations with Bulgaria, Zaev says the party is telling one thing when they go abroad and another at home, adding “they were doing this while in power and they are doing it while in opposition.”
“We signed the Friendship Treaty with Bulgaria, we signed the Prespa Agreement with Greece, we solved issues between the two largest communities in the country, Macedonians and Albanians. They did not take part in any of this and only created problems. For them, the worse the situation in the country, the better for the party. I am doing everything so they stand together in the country’s interest. These days, we are seeing Antonio Miloshoski, Hristijan Mickoski, Aleksandar Nikoloski insisting on using the Parliament to create a feud,” says Zaev.
Asked if VMRO-DPMNE is the same as the one when the first treaty with Bulgaria was signed back in 1999, the PM says the party has changed profoundly.
“And part of the ‘deep state’ that Ljubcho Georgievski was referring to stayed there. This is not patriotism or European conduct. Because it is easy to pick a fight but one has to be a hero and create friendship, since the Macedonians and Bulgarians have all the prerequisites to be best friends,” PM Zaev underlines in the BGNES interview.
