SKOPJE – Yesterday, the Prime Minister of North Macedonia Zoran Zaev reiterated that there is no need for a new agreement with Bulgaria because the existing one is excellent, Plusinfo reports.
Explaining his recent statement that there are appropriate tools and ways to resolve the problem with Bulgaria, such as a public statement, declaration, annex to the agreement, etc., Zaev said that it should be stated that “the name Republic of North Macedonia refers to the territory of our state and that we have no territorial claims”.
“We have an excellent agreement that we need to continue to implement”, said Zaev.
He stressed that non-interference in the internal affairs of neighboring countries, including Bulgaria, is a principle he believes in.
Osmani: The short name of the country “North Macedonia” scared the Bulgarians that we have territorial claims
“I think we have no problem making an additional explanation to the Bulgarian side that the new name is in use, both long and short, but both short and long represent the same territory and that is the Republic of North Macedonia,” said today the Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani.
He added that working groups from North Macedonia and Bulgaria are working daily to overcome the differences between the two countries regarding the implementation of the Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness, and Cooperation between the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Bulgaria, confirming that an additional annex to this document is being prepared.
Osmani pointed out that during his visit to Sofia, they discussed the differences between expectations and different interpretations of certain solutions from the Agreement and how to facilitate certain solutions.
“We concluded that we have differences in our expectations regarding the extent to which that Agreement has yielded results in relation to the issue for which it was intended or signed. Here we opened all the issues and agreed to form working groups, from the two ministries that will discuss differences in expectations and different interpretations of certain solutions on a daily basis”, said Osmani.
According to him, there is no dilemma that certain issues should be resolved and clarified, as well as the country’s obligation not to interfere in the internal affairs of neighboring countries.
Regarding historical issues, the Foreign Minister said that he would like to encourage the Commissions of the two countries to reach certain solutions as soon as possible that will give new impetus to the relations between the two countries with a view to the future, not the past.