Macedonian representatives in the joint commission of historians created with Bulgaria have confirmed that they have asked for its work to be paused due to the early general elections in Macedonia. Bulgarian representative Angel Dimitrov yesterday said that the Macedonian side unilaterally stopped the commission’s work and that it is unclear if it will resume in May, after the elections.
The state ran MIA news agency cites unnamed Macedonian representatives in the commission who call the move a “temporary pause”, which was required by the Macedonian side, in order that the issues discussed by the commission are not abused for pre-election political purposes.
The commission, founded under the 2017 Zaev – Borisov treaty, led to requests for revisions of the historic narrative in Macedonia on a number of historic periods and heroes. This has caused tensions between the two countries and led to a recent exchange of declarations between the two academies – the Macedonian one declaring the Macedonian language as a separate language, and the Bulgarian one insisting it is a dialect of the Bulgarian. Zaev is eager to portray the treaty as a success, and has pushed on the Macedonian commission members to be conciliatory, especially given that Bulgaria can block Macedonia’s EU accession if the commission doesn’t yield results.
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