site.btaSofia Welcomes Remarks by North Macedonia's Prime Minister as "Small Step in Right Direction"

Veliko Turnovo, Northern Bulgaria, November 26 (BTA) - An
opinion expressed by North Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev
 in an interview for a Bulgarian news agency on Wednesday was
described by Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Defence
Minister Krassimir Karakachanov on Thursday as "a small step in
the right direction."

Zaev admitted to BGNES that North Macedonia and Bulgaria have a
"common" history rather than a "shared" one. Sofia finds the
distinction important because it insists that the history of the
 people of Vardar Macedonia until World War II cannot be
separated from the history of the Bulgarians. In the interview,
Zaev also accused the politicians of former Yugoslavia of
keeping the Macedonians and the Bulgarians apart. According to
him, implementing the 2017 Treaty of Friendship,
Goodneighbourliness and Cooperation between Bulgaria and North
Macedonia will be as good as implementing a law. These words
earned him criticism and insults from Skopje. His country's
opposition VMRO-DPMNE party demanded his resignation.

Bulgaria wants the EU-North Macedonia agreement to prescribe
that Sofia may halt the EU membership negotiations with Skopje
at any time if it finds that the bilateral Goodneighbourliness
Treaty has been breached. The other EU member states have
dismissed the Bulgarian demands and have refused to incorporate
them in the negotiating framework between the EU and North
Macedonia. This, along with Skopje's reluctance to make
concessions, has led Sofia to veto the formal start of EU
accession negotiations with North Macedonia.

On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Karakachanov, who leads the
power-sharing VMRO party in Bulgaria, told journalists in Veliko
 Turnovo that if North Macedonia takes quick steps along the
lines set out by Zaev in the interview, its negotiations with
Brussels could begin next year. Karakachanov commented: "The
things that Zoran Zaev says now about our common history and
some common historical figures were impossible to hear until
just two months ago. I want to congratulate him. He has shown
courage, and is being criticized for that by his opponents. This
 is a small step in the right direction."

Bulgaria needs written guarantees, Karakachanov went on to say.
"Anyone can make an oral statement. It may be like a document
for the media but it is not a treaty between nations," he
argued. "What Bulgaria needs is an annex, a new treaty, or a
signed protocol giving very clear guarantees. We need clarity
about what is happening, and how. Most importantly, the problem
of hate speech should be addressed. Bulgaria demands clear
guarantees for an education reform in North Macedonia."

Karakachanov's comment about hate speech has to do with Sofia's
complaint that an anti-Bulgarian campaign flares up every once
in a while in North Macedonia's media and political discourse.
The expectation of an education reform is based on Bulgaria's
concern that facts of the two countries' common history are
misrepresented in school books in North Macedonia.

Karakachanov noted that once the EU starts negotiating with
North Macedonia, the process will take a long time, perhaps even
 10 years. "To get it all started, we want to have a roadmap
which says very clearly that Bulgaria may stop the process if
North Macedonia fails to implement its treaty with us."

The Deputy Prime Minister was in Veliko Turnovo for the holiday
of the National Military University. NV/VE