site.btaPrime Minister Yanev: We Have Common Past and Common Future with Republic of North Macedonia

Sofia, October 29 (BTA) - Taking questions from the general public and the media via Facebook on Friday, Prime Minister Stefan Yanev said: "Just as we have a common past with the Republic of North Macedonia and the people who live there, we also have a common future. Bulgaria has consistently supported the Republic of North Macedonia and its prospects of development in the European Union and NATO."

Yanev stressed that Bulgaria is trying to hold direct dialogue with its southwestern neighbour to make sure that all issues in bilateral relations are discussed and the 2017 Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Cooperation is observed. Along with that, Bulgaria is protecting its national interests, he added.

"For some reason the leadership of the Republic of North Macedonia is not eager to implement the treaty. It is there that our claims are enshrined," the Prime Minister said. He urged for school books in the Republic of North Macedonia to be cleared of hate speech. "The way of viewing the past is important in so far as history should not be forged, monuments should not be destroyed and the inscriptions on the monuments should not be altered," he argued.

"We need to be sure that those Macedonian citizens who have Bulgarian self-awareness, look to the past for their Bulgarian roots and identify themselves as people of Bulgarian origin, have the same rights as all other citizens," the Prime Minister said. MY/VE