In an interview with the “Financial Times”, newly elected Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov indicates that he could lift the veto against Macedonia in six months, after an extensive process of negotiations.

We will propose a new process, very fast, with a limited timeframe, just six months long, Petkov told the “Financial Times“.

The paper says this clearly indicated that he will lift the veto, but does not say what concessions Macedonia would have to make in order for this to happen. In an earlier interview, with “Der Spiegel”, Petkov said that he wants negotiations to take place through a number of committees, on various issues. Macedonia currently has a joint committee of historians with Bulgaria, and work there has been stuck.

Petkov is likely planning negotiations on practical issues, such as infrastructure, but also said that he wants Macedonian history books to be rewritten, and to have articles on the Second World War, in which it is noted that Bulgaria was part of the fascist Axis, reworded. In 2019, the Bulgarian Parliament unanimously adopted a declaration that demands extensive concessions from Macedonia, to redefine the Macedonian national identity, history and language, and show that they are the same with, or derived from, the Bulgarian nation and history.