Defense Minister Radmila Sekerinska condemned the latest statement from her Bulgarian counterpart Krasimir Karakacanov as “Balkan comments”. Karakacanov was speaking about the offer from Bulgaria to donate coronavirus vaccines to Macedonia, saying that it is normal for Bulgaria to want to help “fellow Bulgarian compatriots”.

I expect that his Prime Minister will be ashamed of this comment. That is not a friendly statement, a statement between allies. It is just a Balkan comment, in the negative sense. It is clear that there are people who want to score senseless political points, just as some were making money in Bulgaria off the sale of Bulgarian passports to Macedonia, as we heard. Usually this type of point scoring doesn’t end well. Especially when somebody is trying to score points on issues of health and vaccines, Sekerinska said.

Karakacanov and other nationalists from Bulgaria are ramping up the chest-thumping on the issue of Macedonia, especially after the country vetoed Macedonia’s EU accession talks. In response, the Zaev Government oscillates between agreeing to their demands and counter-attacks.