Former Bulgarian President Georgi Prvanov condemned Prime Minister Boyko Borisov for his escalation of the dispute with Macedonia and raising it at the level of the European Union. “Instead of being closest nations, we became the biggest enemies in the Balkans”, said Prvanov, who was born in Pirin Macedonia and is a former historian who worked for the Bulgarian secret service and reported on the positions of Macedonian historians.

Tensions between Macedonia and Bulgaria grew after the 2017 Zaev – Borisov treaty, as Bulgaria is using it to impose a new reading of history on Macedonia, and blocked the opening of EU accession talks after even Zaev refused to go along with all Bulgarian demands.

There is no interest for this issue in Brussels. Nobody there will waste his time reading the Bulgarian framework position document, Prvanov said in an interview. He added that he expects the Biden administration to increase the pressure on Bulgaria and push it to allow Macedonia to open the EU accession talks.