The latest set of demands linked to the dispute Bulgaria is imposing on Macedonia have raised the already high bar of humiliation for the country. Macedonia is expected to amend its Constitution and include the Bulgarian minority in it – without the right to ask for some kind of reciprocity from Bulgaria. It also needs to stop complaining about the Bulgarian demands and comparing them to, say, Russian historic claims against Ukraine, even as Bulgarian officials freely use comparisons and allusions to the war in Ukraine to denigrate Macedonia.

The latest new call comes from Petar Kolev, the head of the GDU party that is establishing itself as the voice of Bulgarians in Macedonia. Kolev wants this minority group to be represented in the negotiations between the two countries and to more directly put forward their demands. Meanwhile, President Stevo Pendarovski was openly rebuked by Bulgaria for merely meeting with representatives of ethnic Macedonians from Bulgaria.

June was set as the month when the dispute will be overcome – at least in the early optimistic days after the election of Kiril Petkov as Prime Minister of Bulgaria. But with the more recent developments, and the tone and demands coming from Sofia, this is now looking very unlikely.