During a TV interview dedicated to the dispute between Bulgaria and Macedonia, retired Bulgarian colonel Jordan Kostadinov exclaimed that “the day will come when all Bulgarians will sing that there is only one nation living from Ohrid to the Black Sea, and from the Danube to the Aegean”.

Kostadinov, who taught at the Sofia Military Academy, himself originates from Ohrid. His comment evoked a Bulgarian march from the Second World War, when Bulgaria briefly held the lands mentioned in the march, which was banned after the war. Kostadinov’s comment is typical of the growing nationalist wave in Bulgaria, as the country believes that it can use its leverage in the European Union to pressure Macedonia to accept concessions that may eventually lead to unification.