VMRO-DPMNE Vice President Aleksandar Nikoloski drew a parallel between the Russian demands from Ukraine and its negation of the Ukrainian national identity with the Bulgarian claims on Macedonian national identity and history. Bulgaria is blocking Macedonia from opening EU accession talks until it accepts the Bulgarian historic narrative.

Numerous human lives were lost in Ukraine, there is a lot of destruction, and there are hundreds of thousands of refugees. This military aggression, this war, must stop, Nikoloski said during the emergency meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

“What I want to particularly underline is that there are many similarities between the Macedonian and the Ukrainian people. Just as the Ukrainian national identity is begin denied, so Bulgaria denies the Macedonian national identity. Just as the Ukrainian language is denied, in the same way Bulgaria denies the Macedonian language. As the Ukrainian people suffer, so does the Macedonian people”, Nikoloski added.

He urged the European Union to immediately approve a date when Macedonia will open its EU accession talks, with its national identity and language preserved.