VMRO inseparably belongs to the Macedonian nation, said Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski in his remarks honoring the Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle, which marks the founding of the VMRO organization in 1893.

The Organization began a Macedonian national liberation struggle, leading the people of Macedonia, regardless of their religion or nationality. The crowning moment of this struggle was the 1903 Ilinden Uprising. I follow the debates about who VMRO belongs to, but it inseparably belongs to the Macedonian people. The Organization is the people, said Mickoski.

In honor of the holiday, he urged his political opponents, who have different views on the forced renaming of the country and the Prespa Treaty, to unite over decisions that will benefit Macedonia and help form its future.

I say to them that I will accept any proposal that is constructive. Let us think in a strategic way for the good of the country, Mickoski said, as he was condemning a spin attempt by the opposition SDSM party. SDSM tried to make a sarcastic comment Mickoski made sound earnest – when he was discussing the dispute with Bulgaria, Mickoski said that it should be resolved with gradual implementation of the key Bulgarian demand, that the Bulgarian nation is added to the Preamble of the Constitution, and that this enters into force only as Bulgaria ratifies the Macedonian entry into NATO. Mickoski said that “since many praised the Prespa Treaty with Greece”, which also includes elements that are being gradually implemented, then such an approach should be acceptable for the dispute with Bulgaria as well. SDSM tried to make the statement sound as if Mickoski is endorsing the Prespa Treaty, which he bitterly opposed.