Zoran Zaev acknowledged that the historic dispute with Bulgaria will likely not be resolved until June 22nd, when the European Council meets. Bulgaria is blocking the opening of accession talks with Macedonia and even if its politicians were inclined to make some kind of a deal, it does not currently have a legitimate Government in place.

I have a feeling that the problem will not be resolved until June 22nd. It not impossible. But I’m saying this because I don’t want to raise expectations among our citizens, Zaev said after his visit to Brussels.

This contradicts with his more optimistic statement in a MIA interview where he said that we are not far from a solution with Bulgaria. Bulgaria demands major concessions from Macedonia in the areas of national identity and history.