Zoran Zaev spoke on the phone with the newly elected Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov, and discussed how they will approach the dispute that blocked Macedonia’s EU accession talks. Zaev is on his way out as Prime Minister, but could postpone his resignation for a number of months, to try to reach another agreement with Bulgaria and make additional concessions. Bulgaria is expected to block Macedonia’s EU accession talks at the on-going European Council, but Petkov is indicating that he could lift the veto after six months.

During our phone conversation, I wished him success in his work. We agreed to continue to work to find a mutually acceptable solution to unblock the process of opening Macedonia’s EU accession talks, and give a new positive impuls to improve our bilateral relations, in the name of our common European future, Zaev said.