The Prime Ministers of Macedonia and Bulgaria, Zoran Zaev and Boyko Borisov, spoke on the phone today and issued similar statements insisting that the 2017 treaty they signed will be the basis for resolving the growing historic and national identity disputes between the countries.

In his statement, Borisov said that he congratulated Zaev on his re-election in the uncontested party elections yesterday.

We both agreed that the decisions the two countries must make in the spirit of the Treaty of good-neighborly relations and friendship must not be delayed, in the name of our common history and our European future, Borisov said. In his similar comment, Zaev added that the decisions need to be made “soon” and slightly modified the “common history” part saying that “in the past of our two countries is the foundation on which to build our common future in the EU”.

Bulgaria demands major concessions from Macedonia in the areas of history and national identity before it will allow the opening of EU accession talks. Until Zaev accepts the demands, Bulgaria has blocked the opening of EU accession talks. Bulgaria faces general elections, and Borisov is eager for a win in the dispute he opened with Macedonia before the vote.