Let it be known that Zaev fathered the problem with Bulgaria, said VMRO-DPMNE President Hristijan Mickoski during the large conference of the party’s youth organization in Bitola today. Zaev signed a treaty with Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov in 2017, which now serves as the basis for Bulgaria’s demands against Macedonia.

Macedonia needs to begin its EU accession talks as soon as possible. But Zaev is counting on the Portuguese proposal, which was rejected by Bulgaria outright. Bulgaria demands that the negotiations are conducted on the basis of their declaration, which includes positions that Zaev himself accepted, in his BGNES interview. Zaev agreed that the Bulgarian occupation of Macedonia was mere administration, that the language spoken between Strumica and Petric is one and the same, that our heroes are common heroes… That is why the people are taking to the streets, and demand that Zaev respects our red lines. We can’t give away our Macedonian national identity, our history and our language. We are Macedonians with a Macedonian identity, language and history. We earned our NATO membership and we deserve quick entry into the European Union. And that is where that debate ends, Mickoski said.