The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Northern Macedonia, Bujar Osmanihe said the dialogue with Bulgaria, as well as with the French Presidency, continues. We hope that in the next period there will be concrete steps, but one thing is clear and we tell everyone – first, that it is no longer about Skopje, I have already said that the ball is in the field of Bulgaria and the EU, and second that perhaps this is the only and last chance to save our relations with Bulgaria.
I think that in the future there will be less and less political energy in the government, and the whole society, to dedicate itself to solving this issue, which consumes so much political but also civic energy in the constant processes of hope and disappointment. let us no longer subject the citizens to such endless disappointments, and at one point a line must be drawn to say: enough. As a government, we can no longer deal only with this issue, we will have to focus inside, to continue with the reforms, BTA writes.
He said that until the summer, the government of the Republic of Northern Macedonia will continue to make every effort “until the possibilities are exhausted” in the process of negotiations with Bulgaria, and the opposition must understand this.
Whether we will succeed will depend on what Sofia decides and what the EU decides, he said, adding that he still cannot draw a parallel between the EU and Sofia because “there are countries that know how important it is to be fair to those who have fulfilled the conditions “. According to him, if Bulgaria does not lift its veto in June, relations between the two countries will not be frozen, but the government will no longer focus on this issue, and the ambassador to Bulgaria will continue to work on the issue.
Regarding the guarantees demanded by the opposition from VMRO-DPMNE that after the inclusion of the Bulgarians in the preamble of the constitution of the Republic of Northern Macedonia Bulgaria will not ask for anything more, Osmani clarified that his insistence on signing a comprehensive document means a guarantee if the opposition the country also thinks so, so they think the same way.
It is important to have this document so that we know where this process begins and ends, Osmani stressed, adding that daily communication with Bulgaria continues and there are still serious chances for success. According to him, in recent months the positions have become so close that “it will be a historical damage” if this moment is not used, because “there will be no more appropriate”.
According to Osmani, there was an idea to hold the second joint meeting of the governments of the two countries at the end of May, but “this will also depend on the other political process” (negotiations). Hate speech will not be reduced during the process of provocation and blocking. The cure for this is not in the symptoms, but in the reason for the hate speech, and this is the veto, said Osmani.
The press conference of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Northern Macedonia today was dedicated to the beginning of the process of strategic dialogue with the United States on June 2 in Washington. such as cybersecurity and a concrete initiative in the field of culture and education.
