At the level of relations between the two sides, de-escalation is needed from both sides and it is good that the statement coming from official Sofia is that they want de-escalation, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski said today.

Regarding whether there is an officially announced delegation from Bulgaria for Goce Delcev’s birth anniversary, Kovacevski said that there is currently no official announcement, but that there is still time until February 4.

In a statement to the media after the end of the first panel of the “Year of New Opportunities” conference, Kovacevski stressed that provocations by individuals, who have a name and a surname and who are sanctioned according to the laws in our country cannot be a basis and cannot represent a basis to consider that our entire country or our institutions have such a relationship.

We are a country that has raised to the highest level the realization of the rights of citizens who self-determine in a different way than the Macedonians, who are the most numerous in the country. For that we have institutions, for that, we have a constitutional arrangement, for that, we have a series of laws that no country in Europe has. It is something we can be proud of, Kovacevski said.

On the other hand, Kovacevski pointed out, Bulgaria is in the midst of elections and there are politicians who, with nationalism and populism, want to make a political profit, that is, to get more votes for the next elections in Bulgaria, the same thing happens in our country when we are in elections. However, they cannot be the basis for building relations between the two states.

Regarding the tensions, Kovacevski said that they were caused by individuals and groups who are against Macedonia’s European path and who are against the region’s integration into the EU.

It is up to the official institutions of both Macedonia and Bulgaria, but also to other countries in the region, to work on the implementation of the European agenda, and we as a Government are committed and I, from the first day when I became prime minister, said that we, on the basis of European values, always we will talk to our neighbors appreciating our dignity and protecting our national interests. The conclusions reached by our Parliament during the vote on the European proposal are in this direction, where this Government, but also every subsequent government, is obliged by the national interests, which are at the highest level raised for their protection, to negotiate with the EU until full EU membership of the country, Kovacevski said.