Zoran Zaev asked Bulgaria to show some patience, insisting that he can’t amend the Constitution right now. Bulgaria now formally wants Macedonia to amend the Preamble and add the Bulgarian minority, along with the Albanian, Turkish, Serbian and other minorities mentioned there.

The Constitution is being amended at the moment of entering the EU. That is when we will open it and we will enter the less numerous communities who live here. We have no prejudice. But if someone wants us to do it tomorrow, we can’t. We don’t have the two thirds majority, Zaev said, adding that other communities, like the Croats, Montenegrins and Egyptians are also waiting to be added to the Preamble.

When asked if he will ask for the same courtesy from Bulgaria – to name the Macedonian community in its Constitution, Zaev replied that he can’t meddle in Bulgarian internal affairs. “It’s nice to have reciprocity, but meddling in internal affairs is not a message of friendship”, Zaev replied. Bulgaria does not recognize ethnic minorities in its territory – and especially not the Macedonian minority.