Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani insists that the proposal Macedonia apparently made to Bulgaria to resolve the historic dispute that blocks our EU accession path, will remain secret even after Bulgaria publicly rejected it.

Yes, there is such a document, which we are prepared to accept, but until we have a positive reply from Bulgaria I don’t think the conditions will be met for me to inform the members of Parliament and the public. The proposal can be rejected and it will all be for nothing, Osmani said.

The Kovacevski Government is hoping that Bulgaria will lift its veto in June, but it does not look promising, due to divisions in the Petkov Government. The proposal was rejected by Foreign Minister Teodora Gencovska, who comes from one of the more hardline parties – ITN. Petkov will visit Bitola today, for the opening of a Bulgarian cultural center there. The visit could give him arguments to say that the position of Bulgarians in Macedonia is improving, but could also provide ammunition against a deal, if it descends into protests and insults, which is also possible.