Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani dismissed the declaration VMRO-DPMNE proposed to protect the role of Goce Delcev in Macedonian history as “politicized hijacking of an important issue to score points”. Osmani, who is an ethnic Albanian, joined SDSM in their opposition to the declaration, which increased concerns that the SDSM – DUI coalition is preparing to make new concessions to Bulgaria, further undermining Macedonian national identity.

We do not object to the content of the declaration, but to its form, the attempt to move the process away from the historic commission with Bulgaria and on the political front. This will lead to competition between the parliaments of the two countries, who would produce a more strongly worded declaration on Goce Delcev. That is not a solution, Osmani said.