VMRO-DPMNE official Antonio Milososki denied claims from Bulgarian nationalist member of the European Parliament Angel Dzhambazki that he has a Bulgarian passport.

I have no other citizenship other than the Macedonian one, I’ve never had another citizenship, and I have no intention to seek other citizenship. My Macedonian citizenship is an expression of my loyalty and my political determination, Milososki said. He noted that the now ruling SDSM party had ties with a small time mobster from Skopje who was caught in 2015 manufacturing fake passports of VMRO-DPMNE officials that were planned to be used in a propaganda campaign.

Bulgaria has a liberal policy of issuing passports to Macedonians, provided that they sign a statement declaring they have Bulgarian origin. Nearly 90,000 Macedonian citizens are estimated to have used this option, mainly so that they can travel and work more easily in EU member states, but Bulgaria is now using this fact as evidence of the existence of a Bulgarian minority in Macedonia.