Bulgarian Defense Minister Krasimir Karakacanov told TV24 that Bulgaria sent the text of the annex its wants added to the 2017 Zaev – Borisov treaty in November. The Zaev Government is hiding the document from the public and even denied reports from the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party that Bulgaria wants to expand the treaty Zaev signed and claimed would resolve all issues between the two countries.

Karakacanov did not disclose additional details to the TV station, and the text of the annex remains a secret. It’s widely expected that it will contain far more legally binding requirements from Macedonia to amend its reading of history and to water down the distinction between the Macedonian and the Bulgarian nation. Bulgaria saw the concessions Greece exacted from Zaev in 2018, which included changes to the name and the Constitution of the country as well as giving away any claim to the history of the ancient period, and now sees its 2017 treaty with Zaev as insufficient and claims it is not being implemented. Zaev accepted all Bulgarian demands in an interview, but still hasn’t accepted them in a legally binding form.