Prime Minister Dimitar Kovacevski issued a rare warning to Bulgaria, saying that Macedonia can’t just open and amend its Constitution whenever someone asks it to do so. Kovacevski is under pressure from Bulgaria to introduce the Bulgarian nation in the preamble, as a condition to even open the EU accession talks.

He asked Bulgaria to make sure that the agreement is reached in a way that will preserve the dignity of both nations, and will not undermine the pride of the citizens of either country.

Our identity and language are not a matter of negotiation. I have never negotiated or talked about the identity and language of the Macedonian people. That is something that is ours, which we’ve always had and we will have in the future, and identifies us as a nation, Kovacevski said.

Kovacevski blamed Bulgaria of worsening relations after the opening of a Bulgarian club named after Vanco Mihajlov in Bitola, in the presence of top Bulgarian state officials.

At the moment we don’t have a final document that is acceptable to both sides. When it is made available, it will be shared with the institutions in our country and in Bulgaria, Kovacevski said.