Bulgarian historians and philologists will leave for Strasbourg with a mission to convince MEPs of the “correctness of the Bulgarian position in the dispute between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia”, Sofia-based “Standard” reported.

This trip comes very late. For two years I propose to go with prof. Plamen Pavlov and prof. Ana Koceva in European capitals and to convince. Two years ago when this dispute arose it was different. Now this dispute is literally boiling – it will break out at any moment and that is why, although it is too late, it is good to do it, said archaeologist Nikolay Ovcharov in an interview with the “Bulgaria in the morning” show on Bulgaria On Air.

According to him, Bulgaria is making a huge compromise because it “recognizes the Macedonian identity”, while the country should only “recognize the Bulgarian history until 1944”.

Bulgaria does not want anything unusual from the Republic of Macedonia. There are some very clear things that Macedonia must give up. Above all, it is the hate speech, manipulation and forgery. On the other hand, we cannot ignore the tens or even hundreds of thousands of people who have a Bulgarian identity. It is high time we clearly and unequivocally told the MEPs, all the institutions in Brussels and Strasbourg, that the truth is one and cannot be trampled on, because it is contrary to European universal values, Pavlov said.

He says they also want to put pressure on the Bulgarian side because, in his view, the government in Sofia has a “rather hesitant attitude”.