The US State Department said that it welcomes efforts by Bulgaria and Macedonia to finalize their agreement on the latest historic disputes that block Macedonia from opening EU accession talks.

In its statement, the State Department insists that there are Russian efforts to spread political discord in the Balkans and that now top priority should be peace and security in the region.

The statement comes as both Governments are alleging that Russian agents in the two countries worked against the proposed secretive new treaty that would likely include a new historic narrative to be imposed on Macedonia and changes to the Macedonian national identity.