In a TV interview, President Stevo Pendarovski said that Bulgaria refused a proposal that two German historians are included in the joint historic committee. The work of the committee, set up under the 2017 Zaev – Borisov treaty, is blocked as Bulgaria takes a hard line and demands that practically all historic figures from the medieval period and the period of enlightenment and national struggle, are declared as Bulgarians.

At the start of the year we offered that two German historians join the committee, as consultants. The Bulgarians refused this immediately. The German Presidency of the EU also made the same proposal a month ago, that a third party is added to the talks, but this was also rejected, Pendarovski said, adding that the last meeting of the committee was a “fiasco”.

Macedonian historians agreed to initial Bulgarian demands to revise the historic narrative on a number of medieval figures, but as the talks drew closer to the national struggle period, especially with Bulgarian claims on legendary VMRO leader Goce Delcev, the two sides got completely stuck. Germany tried to mediate between the two countries but little success.