site.btaUPDATED Deputy PM Nikoloski Says Bulgarian Politicians Demanding His Resignation Interfere in North Macedonia's Internal Affairs

Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Nikoloski said a demand for his resignation by Bulgaria's GERB leader Boyko Borissov interfered directly in the internal affairs of the Republic of North Macedonia. Borissov's statement was prompted by Nikoloski's claims in an interview with TV Alfa that the hosts in Sofia of North Macedonia's President Gordana Siljanovska were "uncivilized".

Interviewed by TV Sitel on Sunday evening, Nikoloski said his statement had been coordinated with Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, and "Borissov's move only shows what they want really - to dictate the political processes" in North Macedonia.

"Let's see who wants me to resign: Bulgaria's number one oligarch whose party is falling apart. A former prime minister accused of corruption. The chairman of a political party with clear pro-Russian positions, which does not recognize [North] Macedonia," Nikoloski said.

He said his statement had been honest and was the least he could have said about the absence of the national flag of North Macedonia in a photo of Presidents Rumen Radev and Gordana Siljanovska. The President of North Macedonia was in Sofia for an opera performance on September 13.

Nikoloski added that if Skopje issued diplomatic notes every time Bulgarian politicians said something insulting about North Macedonia, this would take all its time. 

"If it [the absent flag] was a mistake, mistakes do happen. What was Rumen Radev's response? He started insulting all of us. He could have apologized and, for example, as a sign of good will, could have asked the mayor of Sofia the next day to put Bulgarian and Macedonian flags on the main boulevard in Sofia as a sign of apology and respect. What did they do? They started insulting us. My response was prompted by those insults," Nikoloski said.

"The crux of the matter is that there are some 20 politicians and historians in Bulgaria who have nothing to offer people except the topic of [North] Macedonia, but people are not naïve, so 30% go to the polls and they will be having their seventh elections in a row," he said.

This group of 20 politicians and historians has managed to sour the friendly relations between the two peoples and they have hit a record low level, according to North Macedonia's Deputy Prime Minister.