Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani told the press that talks with Bulgaria are advancing well and that differences on some issues, such as the ethnic identity of VMRO leader Goce Delcev, claimed by both countries, are reduced to “nuances”.

The committees of historians are working independently, but we are informed of what they are doing, and I have the feeling that the differences are down to nuances about different views on certain historic figures. It is true that the committees have the task to find points of rapprochement and ways to jointly honor these figures which both sides believe have a claim on, Osmani said.

Bulgaria is blocking Macedonia from opening EU accession talks until it receives significant concessions on issues of national identity and history. In an interview today, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev signalled his readiness to give up on all the issues in question.