We have solid foundation to remove the hurdles preventing the opening of negotiations with the EU that involves a solution, which doesn’t encroach the Macedonian identity-related issues and we’re confident that it is acceptable as well for Bulgaria’s crucial positions, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said commenting on the solutions proposed by Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva, and Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi.

He believes that it is the right moment to go a step further, and reach an agreement in the interest of a common European future as soon as possible, and that, as he stated, “is expected and sought by the citizens of both countries, expected by the Europeans, and we owe it to ourselves, we owe it to the people,” he said.

Zaev thanked Silva and Várhelyi for their commitment to help Skopje and Sofia resolve the issue.

We have good will, we are careful and we have understanding for our neighbors, we have our clear Macedonian identity positions that we do not negotiate, and for which Brussels has shown understanding, and I hope that with the same approach we will meet Sofia for the sake of both people for the common future of the two countries as neighbors and friends, as members of NATO and as future partners and members of the EU, said Zaev.