Former Bulgarian President Georgi Prvanov asked that an additional treaty is signed between Macedonia and Bulgaria, in order to specify the Bulgarian character of the 1903 Ilinden Uprising.

Under the 2017 agreement, a team of historians from both countries is working to determine a shared historical narrative, with Bulgaria given the option to block Macedonia’s EU accession if the results are not satisfactory. Now Prvanov, who himself is a historian and comes from the region of Pirin Macedonia, insists that Bulgaria can’t allow Macedonia to continue “building its separate identity to the detriment of the Bulgarian historian”.

Our politicians have been quiet for a long time to avoid upsetting Skopje, but it is time to point out to the shared history on the basis of a Bulgarian consciousness, Prvanov said while presenting a work of diplomatic texts on the Ilinden Uprising he redacted.

While President, Prvanov outed by the Bulgarian Lustration Commission for his cooperation with the Communist era security service. The documents revealed that he was given the task to report on communications with Macedonian historians and to work with Macedonian dissidents who could be persuaded to promote a pro-Bulgarian historic narrative.