N. Macedonia: PM does not rule out delay in EU negotiations
Zaev denounces Bulgaria's obstruction. Disputes over history
12 October, 16:55Zaev, the regional media reported, referred to the recent talks held in Sofia by Macedonian Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani, which, in his opinion, had not a positive outcome. What the Bulgarian side proposes, he said, is not based on a spirit of friendship and good neighborliness. "If things do not change - the premier underlined - we'll have to prepare our population for the possibility that the two countries will not hold the first intergovernmental conference (on the start of the accession negotiations in Brussels, ed), as planned, in December." In recent months, Bulgaria relaunched historical and cultural heritage, which is the subject of lengthy disputes between two Balkan countries. Bulgarian and Macedonian governments signed three years ago a Treaty of friendship and collaboration that seemed to have laid the foundations for overcoming the conflicts.
According to the Bulgarian side, Skopje falsifies history, with the Macedonian language and nation being born during Communist Yugoslavia. According to Sofia's government, Macedonian would be a dialect of Bulgarian, and Goce Delcev, considered by Macedonians as a national hero, would be of Bulgarian ethnicity.
(ANSA).