According to the Deutsche Welle website in Macedonian language, after Wednesday’s session in Sofia, the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) said that the Macedonian language does not exist and that it is a “written-regional norm” of the Bulgarian language. The Macedonian position is false, BAS officials say.

The claims that the Macedonian language exists undermine relations between the two countries, Bulgarian academics say, voicing disagreement with the adopted “Charter of the Macedonian Language” by the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU) on December 3. On Wednesday, BAS adopted a similar position to that of the top leadership in Sofia voiced in an October declaration that the Macedonian language was a dialect of Bulgarian, and the accompanying documents contain a series of qualifications and insults to the Macedonian language. BAS acknowledges that Wednesday’s position is a direct reaction to the Charter of the Macedonian Language adopted by MANU.

MANU’s document has caused very serious scientific remarks, reads the statement of the Bulgarian Academy.

On December 3 MANU adopted a Charter of the Macedonian Language outlining the scientifically recognized facts about the Macedonian language. The Charter, according to MANU, strengthens the Academy’s views on the need for enhanced and continuous support for scientific research in the Macedonian language and Macedonian dialects, guided by strictly scientific principles.