Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov made conciliatory comments during his visit to Bitola today, where he was met by protesters as he opened a cultural center named after a controversial World War Two leader.

We need to overcome our egos and, to some extent, our recent and not so recent history, Petkov said.

Meanwhile, Vice President Iliana Iotova, who was also part of the delegation, said that Macedonia will need to implement Bulgarian demands linked to the rights of the Bulgarian minority before it can join the EU.

For Macedonia to become an EU member, the condition are the rights of the Bulgarians in Macedonia. The rights need to be met for Macedonia to become part of the EU. That is the position of Bulgaria, Iotova said.

Petkov, Iotova and other dignitaries met with Bulgarians from Bitola and from across Macedonia, at the Ivan Mihajlov cultural center, named after the WW2 Macedonian and pro-Bulgarian VMRO leader who sought the support of Nazi Germany. Left wing protesters and the association of WW2 fighters from Bitola gathered in the downtown with signs calling out Bulgaria for its occupation of Macedonia and the Holocaust of Macedonian Jews.

Petkov said that his divided coalition made it clear that the differences need to be surpassed, because the stability of Bulgaria, Macedonia and the region depend on it.

Our task at the moment is to change the meaning of the word Balkanization, and give it a different meaning. We can work together to make this the fastest growing region in Europe, Petkov said.